Mastodon on losing Brent Hinds and launching a new chapter: “As much as we’re going through grieving, we feel emboldened”

Mastodon ’s Brann Dailor has spoken to NME about their new album ‘ Marrow Deep ’ – their first record since the death of his mother and the unexpected passing of longtime bandmate Brent Hinds .

Arriving five years after their last record, ‘ Hushed And Grim ’, the new album will be out on Friday (August 28) and comes amid a tumultuous period for the band.

Last March, they confirmed that they had parted ways with founding member, guitarist and co-vocalist Hinds – leading to tensions being high between the members and Mastodon enlisting guitarist ​​Nick Johnston in his place.

Later, drummer and co-vocalist Dailor revealed the death of his mother, and around that same time, news broke that Hinds had died following a collision on his motorbike .

At the time, the remaining members of Mastodon were already underway with work on a new record, but soon found themselves channelling the grief of both deaths into new material – leading to the new album centred around loss and heartache, as well the idea of holding on long enough to gradually see a spark of hope.

Mastodon.

CREDIT: William Lacalmontie “It’s hard [to explain] the pain and the anguish of losing someone in those circumstances,” Dailor told NME , reflecting on how Hinds’ death impacted them.

“This is someone we were so close with, and while we left on bad terms, we all thought that we were going to bury the hatchet at one point.

I had hope that he was going to come back into the fold.

He continued: “When that [hope] had gone, it felt like the best thing for our group just to lean on each other during that moment and prop each other up with music.

There was no scenario where any of us wanted the record to be about any of that stuff, and I’d trade every riff and every lyric to get those people back… but that’s not the reality of it.

“So the best thing that we could do for ourselves and our mental state was to power through and write about it. ‘Marrow Deep’ is the culmination of that.” Check out the rest of our interview with Dailor below, where he told us about enlisting Black Sabbath ’s Geezer Butler and Queens Of The Stone Age ’s Josh Homme for the album, whether Mastodon they ever considered calling it quits after the loss of Hinds, and why they believe it is “imperative as an artist” to be honest and vulnerable with fans during tough times.

Mastodon ‘Marrow Deep’ NME : Hi Brann.

What’s it like to be back promoting new music again? After going through such a challenging year, it must be strange to be talking about everything in such a public way? Brann Dailor: “It’s been challenging, but it’s not something I’m unfamiliar with.