MASTODON Has 'A Lot Of Loose Demos' For Next Studio Album

In a new interview with Kyle Meredith, MASTODON singer/bassist Troy Sanders spoke about the band's plans for the follow-up to the "Hushed And Grim" album, which came out in 2021. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Thankfully, we don't really sit down. Nothing is really preconceived as far as musically. Whatever riffs are happening with people in the band, those come to the forefront. And if we like it, then we dig in on it and we try to get it to a spot where it can become hopefully a good song. The storyline, if we decide to have one on the next album, that will come if someone brings in an idea, like, 'Hey, guys, I've been thinking about this thing. What do you think of ta-da-da?' And if it sounds interesting, compelling, then we'll dig in and give it a go maybe. But at this moment, we just wrapped up three years of touring on 'Hushed And Grim', so we're excited to dig into some new music. That's for damn sure. But nothing is written in blood or set in stone. But also nothing is off limits. If someone comes and says, 'What do you think of this, guys? Just hear me out.' And if it sounds interesting and unique and potentially fun to pursue, then we're in. We never really think, like, 'Hey, the last record was long. It was good. It was long and dark and the subject matter was really sad. So we need to do something different.' Well, we're gonna do something different anyway. But we're not gonna do anything just to try to please our fanbase. We're not gonna do anything to purposely try to appeal to a new fanbase or anything like that. We've always just felt confident in whatever we do, people will see through it as authentic, and whether they like it or not, it's not in our hands anyway."

Sanders went on to say that he is "excited to dig into new stuff" with his MASTODON bandmates. "We've got a lot of loose demos that we've been collecting over the years of touring," he explained. "So now that we're home, I'm excited to call the guys here in a few days after everyone reacclimates to home after a seven-week tour and be, like, 'Hey, what's happening? How you feeling? You want to dig in? You ready? You guys ready?'"

Asked if he thinks performing MASTODON's entire "Leviathan" album on the recent "Ashes Of Leviathan" co-headlining tour with LAMB OF GOD will have any effect on the musical direction of MASTODON's next LP, Troy said: "Good question. We were proud to play that record every night for the past month and a half. It didn't feel like simply nostalgia. It felt like, 'Hey, this is a cool record.' We know what it did for us. A lot of people love it. There's tons of people out there enjoying it as we're playing it live. So it was awesome. It's very possible that some of that ferocity and some of those quick riffs will be, like, 'Hey…' This is fun to play. It's very fun to play. So I wouldn't be surprised if some 'Leviathan' creeps in. But it's still in the early stages."

"Leviathan", released on Relapse Records, was MASTODON's first concept album, loosely based on the 1851 novel "Moby-Dick" by Herman Melville. Three magazines named the LP "Album Of The Year" in 2004: Revolver, Kerrang! and Terrorizer. In 2009 and 2015, MetalSucks named "Leviathan" the best metal album of the 21st century. "Leviathan" was also released with an audio DVD in a limited-edition set with a black-and-gold slipcase.

MASTODON's latest album, the aforementioned "Hushed And Grim", was a double LP recorded at the band's Atlanta studio, West End Sound. The effort was produced by David Bottrill (TOOL, RUSH, MUSE, PETER GABRIEL) and was MASTODON's most expansive song cycle to date, featuring 15 distinct tracks. It achieved the band's third consecutive No. 1 debut on the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart and earned MASTODON a Grammy Award nomination for the track "Pushing The Tides". Additionally, the album's single "Teardrinker" secured a top 10 position on the rock radio charts, a further testament to the band's widespread acclaim.

Last month, MASTODON and LAMB OF GOD shared a collaborative new single called "Floods Of Triton". The track, which was recorded prior to the launch of the "Ashes Of Leviathan" tour, was made available via Loma Vista Recordings.

"Floods Of Triton" was recorded at MASTODON's own West End Sound in Atlanta and was produced by MASTODON and Tyler Bates, highly regarded in his own right for his scores for "Guardians Of The Galaxy", "John Wick", "MaXXXine" and more.