MASTODON Drummer Talks About New Album, Illegal Music Downloading

September 1, 2006

MASTODON drummer Brann Dailor told Katie Hasty of Billboard.com that the group's switch from Relapse to Reprise hasn't affected the its progressive sound or aggressive touring schedule. In fact, according to Dailor, "Blood Mountain" may be MASTODON's riskiest effort yet.

"It's technically more difficult," he told Billboard.com. "The songs are really hard to play. We needed an extra month to rehearse before we recorded."

The follow-up to 2004's "Leviathan" comes on the heels of buzz-building tours with SLAYER and SLIPKNOT, as well as a stint on Ozzfest. "After we got done recording, it was the first time since 'Leviathan' that my brain could take a rest," Dailor said. "But when Reprise signed us, of course they want a record. We didn't force the music to come out or anything, but at the end of the day, you're contractually bound to make one in a certain amount of time."

The band has also made headlines lately in its effort to keep "Blood Mountain" from leaking to illegal downloading sites. Recently, Reprise was able to track down an English music retail worker who made all the tracks available on his web site, and had him fired.

"I think it's ridiculous that he thought it was O.K. to do that. We're not taking the stance that stealing our record is taking food from our kids' mouths or anything because, chances are, we won't make that kind cash selling this record. Our money comes from touring and selling T-shirts," Dailor explains. "One of the main reasons [we're against illegal downloading] is that it's not a good copy. It is sh*tty compared to what it should be. It's not the way the record should be heard."

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).