MASTODON Guitarist: '25 To 30 Songs' Are 'Ready For The New Record'

July 3, 2013

On June 30, Derek Simmons-Tobias of Examiner.com conducted an interview with guitarist Bill Kelliher of Atlanta progressive metallers MASTODON at the Mountain View, California stop of this summer's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked about the progress of the songwriting sessions for MASTODON's follow-up to 2011's "The Hunter", Kelliher said: "Before we left for the European tour, which was prior to this, we got into a studio with a producer. We started just putting ideas down on tape, so to speak. We have about 25 to 30 songs that are ready for the new record. We're obviously not gonna use all 30 of them, but we're in a much better place than we've ever been as far as being prepared during pre-production for an album. We'd like to get the record finished by the end of the year and have it out as soon as Christmas and all the holidays are over with — maybe, like, March or April, it would be great to have the new record out and then do a brand new tour on some new music."

A MASTODON song from the band's 2004 album "Leviathan" is featured in the new animated film "Monsters University". The track "Island" is utilized in a scene in the movie, but does not appear on the official soundtrack. The filmmakers explained how and why "Island" and MASTODON were chosen to factor into the film, saying, "There is a great moment in 'Monsters University' when we thought it would be funny if the tunes were some of the most intense heavy metal imaginable. MASTODON was the obvious choice. They show off an unexpected monstrous side for one of our great new characters."

"Monsters University" is the prequel to 2001's "Monsters, Inc."Billy Crystal and John Goodman reprise their roles in the prequel as the wise-cracking Mike Wazowski and lovable Sulley.

MASTODON's latest album, "The Hunter", came out in September 2011 through Reprise Records.

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