MASTODON's SANDERS: 'The Four Of Us Still Have That Fire That Has Yet To Be Extinguished'

Rhapsody.com recently conducted an intervie with MASTODON bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow.

Rhapsody.com: This record ["Crack The Skye"] is very personal to each member of MASTODON for different reasons. What does it mean to you?

Sanders: I guess for me it's just the overall feeling of growth and being proud. The four of us are a rather tight-knit unit, and over nine years later and five albums later, to feel like we're continuing to bond further and still walking away from an album session feeling like this is our purest and best work to date only proves that the four of us are still ascending. It proves we're still very much alive, the four of us still have that fire that has yet to be extinguished. The brotherhood and camaraderie is what means the world to us. I don't think we could deal with that any other way, I don't think we could tour nine months a year if we weren't a solid unit and this still means the world to us. I guess I'm just most proud of my dudes.

Rhapsody.com: It seems you really tapped into the heart and soul of the band this time around. What brought that out?
Sanders: This is definitely the most personal record we've ever made. We dove in and tapped into energy that's kind of been bottled up for a while, for the most part, as far as dealing physically and emotionally and reflecting on the past two years of our band life and really not being afraid to tap into deeper, darker and more personal spaces and letting that inspire the music we create. So the result is gonna be a very heartfelt, down-to-earth, melodic, spacious, chunk of music.

Rhapsody.com: And it really comes across as a very emotional record.

Sanders: Cool, thanks. Ya know, when you're creating something and you mean it and you're feeling it, then that's I guess the vulnerable side of it. If you can capture those emotions and relate it to others in that manner, then that's the tip of the hat to, 'Hey you were honest and authentic when creating it.' If you can capture that feel and relate it to others then, you know, your job is complete."

Rhapsody.com: How did astral travel, wormholes and Tsarist Russia end up being main concepts on the album?

Sanders: We always deal with topics that are fascinating to us and we kinda lay all these topics and ideas on the table, so to speak, and piece them together to ultimately make a cohesive story. On the surface it can seem very far-fetched and very bizarrely concocted. But to us it makes total sense and helps create a more multi-dimensional storyline and feel. Also, when we tap into this fantastical storyline, it only makes it more open to interpretation, therefore allowing anyone that cares as a listener to pull various feelings and emotions from it. It's not such a literal record where, 'This is what we're saying and that's what it is.' It's very open to interpretation and we're proud of that idea because we want people to pull whatever the want and whatever they can from this.

Rhapsody.com: What are your favorite tracks on the record?

Sanders: You know what, I really love it as a whole. It's easy to say, but I really do. We were done with the record in September and I have had moments where I've had a favorite song at a time, I've gone through all seven and had a favorite. Now, I've really just resolved to loving it as a whole. Our hearts and souls were sunk into it and I really just love it as a whole.

Rhapsody.com: Is that why you plan to play the whole record from start to finish on tour?

Sanders: Yeah, we feel it's the most cohesive album we've ever put out and we've always played around with the idea of performing a record in its entirety. We listened back and thought that this was an album that we can and should do this on. And we have some visuals that go along, to further the visual stimulation of our live performance."

Rhapsody.com: What sort of visuals?

Sanders: We're going to tap into imagery that matches the feel of every song. Just create a path to help us tap in psychedelically. Close your eyes and drift into fantasyland and escape? I don't know [laughs].

Read the entire interview at Rhapsody.com.