In 2000, Sanders met Brann Dailor and Bill Kelliher along with Brent Hinds at a High on Fire show and later formed Mastodon. The four began a new musical venture with then singer Eric Saner, touring the Southern United States, working 40-hour weeks and committing to the band in their spare time. The band's mainstream success would ensue after Saner left the band, pushing Sanders to the forefront not just as a bassist, but as a vocalist also, the duties of which he would share with Hinds.