In honor of the seventh annual Record Store Day, Atlanta rockers Mastodon unveiled a very cool vinyl album for their fans: ‘Live at Brixton.’ On Feb. 11, 2012, Mastodon invaded the O2 Academy in Brixton, London and put on a show that will forever be remembered as one of the band's best. While this live concert has been available to the world digitally since December 2013, what makes this RSD release so cool is the fact that the double-LP is the only physical release of the performance and limited to just 2,000 copies worldwide.

“This is the preferred method because people don’t really buy CDs that much anymore,” Mastodon drummer and vinyl fanatic Brann Dailor tells Loudwire. “Vinyl is the way to go if you’re going to release something. Vinyl is cool, I like vinyl. I definitely prefer it.” As Dailor wraps up his initial thought, he points to a turntable on Mastodon’s tour bus and tells us, “That’s my record player.”

Vinyl is such an important piece of Dailor’s life that he takes it on the road with him, so it makes sense that the format has played an important role in the band’s career as well. Since their first release, 'Remission,' in 2002 and leading up to their upcoming sixth studio album, ‘Once More ‘Round the Sun,’ the connection between the music and format has always been crucial to the Mastodon listening experience. Dailor and his bandmates are huge fans of visual art, too, so there’s no better medium to expand that passion than vinyl.

With ‘Live at Brixton,’ the vinyl experience is focused on the performance itself. “Damn, that was a long concert,” Dailor laughingly tells us. “There are a lot of songs right in a row.” The expansive set covers a multitude of tunes including 'Dry Bone Valley,' 'Megalodon,' 'Crack the Skye,' 'Iron Tusk' and 19 others, including an epic finale with 'Creature Lives.'

As most fans can likely relate, when listening to a live performance digitally or on a CD, it’s easy to bounce around to your favorite songs. But when you drop the needle on ‘Live at Brixton,’ you sit back and consume the entire show as if you were in the audience. “That’s why I like vinyl,” he says. “I like the ritual of it all. You’re going to listen to an album, you’re not going to skip around.” When you're done listening to the two 12-inch 180-gram records, you have the chance to consume the show in an overtly visual way, via a DVD of the entire performance. "The show was huge, it was great," the drummer fondly remembers. "The DVD is awesome."

The packaging for 'Live at Brixton' is simple yet striking, featuring live shots of the band throughout the heavy duty gatefold and printed insert. This limited edition release will enhance any fan's record collection, adding more to it than just another slab of wax. Dailor tells us, "With a Mastodon album, kids look forward to it as it being an experience. I want to give it to them the way that I would want it. That’s how we see it. Let’s go a little deeper, be a little more thoughtful about it."

When Dailor talks about vinyl with such personal passion, it's coming from a very genuine place. "I buy records. I have a whole room in my house that’s dedicated to vinyl. It’s all records, it’s got the stereo system. It’s old-school, it’s the record room," he says. Without hesitation, Dailor tells us his favorite record in his collection: Genesis' 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.' "I have like five different pressings of it," Dailor explains. "A Japanese pressing, a first pressing, a 200-gram pressing, a 180-gram pressing. I like it!"

Since 'Live at Brixton' is an exclusive release for Record Store Day 2014, get out to your local independent record shop for a chance at scoring this album. Remember, this is the only physical copy of the performance in the world so don't hesitate to pick it up if you can get your hands on it.

And make sure to elevate your vinyl experience with Mastodon's next studio album, 'Once More 'Round the Sun.' Get details on the massive release here.

Mastodon, 'Live at Brixton'

Mastodon - 'Live at Brixton' - Vital Vinyl
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Mastodon - 'Live at Brixton' - Vital Vinyl
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Mastodon - 'Live at Brixton' - Vital Vinyl
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Mastodon - 'Live at Brixton' - Vital Vinyl
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Mastodon - 'Live at Brixton' - Vital Vinyl
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Mastodon - 'Live at Brixton' - Vital Vinyl
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Mastodon - 'Live at Brixton' - Vital Vinyl
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