Mastodon’s Brann Dailor recently addressed the band’s upcoming album, addressing whether any of former guitarist Brent Hinds’ musical ideas made it onto the record.
“Unfortunately not,” Dailor said when asked if any of Hinds’ pre-exit ideas were used. “Really, for the last few records, we would try to get him to come down and contribute, but he was just kind of off doing his thing. He was riding his motorcycle around.”
“But we would always keep writing, and we would text him or I’d call him and say, ‘Hey, we’re gonna be down there at the space. We’re gonna be writing. So, just letting you know. And if you wanna get down there with us and get your hands dirty, you’re more than welcome. We want you to be more involved,'” Dailor continued. “But he had a lot going on in his life as well, and he was going through some things personally that were tough, and so we understood that, and we were just giving him as much grace as we could and just always leaving the door open.”
“But also, we are three creative people that the faucet just doesn’t turn off, and so we just wanted to be, like, ‘Hey, man, we’re gonna keep on writing, and we’re very excited for you to get in on this stuff,’ and always left that door open,” he added. “But, unfortunately, for the last bunch of months of touring and while we were working on the skeletons of the songs that became ‘Marrow Deep’, he just was kind of nowhere to be found within those writing sessions.”
“And as a result, we don’t have any material from him that is on the new record,” Dailor said. “So it’s solely the three of us kind of creating everything from the ground up, and then getting the new members involved towards the end to sort of, quote-unquote, ‘punch up’ the songs that existed and really get them to be as good as they possibly could be with some fresh and new energy with João and Nick Johnston on guitar.”
‘Marrow Deep’ is Mastodon’s ninth studio album and marks their first full-length release since Hinds’ exit from the band. The album is set to arrive on August 28 via Loma Vista Recordings, featuring a 12-song track list that explores themes rooted in Greek mythology. The album’s concept revolves around the Three Fates, weaving narratives of loss, fragility, and destiny throughout the record.
The band has already unveiled the first single from the album, “Snakes For Dinner,” which features a guest appearance from Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age. The track arrived alongside an official music video and gave fans their first taste of what the new lineup sounds like. Guitarist Nick Johnston and keyboardist João Nogueira have been formally integrated into the band’s expanded lineup, contributing fresh energy to the recordings.
The album was co-produced by Patrik Berger and Kurt Ballou at West End Sound in Atlanta, with mixing handled by Andrew Scheps. The recording process saw the core trio of Dailor, Troy Sanders, and Bill Kelliher building the foundational skeletons of the songs before bringing in the new members toward the end to enhance the arrangements. This collaborative approach injected new life into the material while staying true to the band’s signature progressive metal sound.
‘Snakes For Dinner’ is available now on streaming platforms, and pre-orders for ‘Marrow Deep’ are currently open.
