Troy Sanders says Mastodon are writing as a five-piece for the first time, with everyone contributing to Marrow Deep.
Mastodon spent 25 years as a four-piece. Marrow Deep, out on August 28 through Loma Vista Recordings, is the first record they have made with five people in the room, and bassist Troy Sanders says the change went further than adding parts.
Speaking to Australia’s “Everblack” podcast, Sanders explained what guitarist Nick Johnston and keyboardist João Nogueira contributed.
“[Nick] brought a few songs into the process that he had been working on, and they turned out to be awesome. We’ve been a four-piece for our entire career. And this is the first record with Nick Johnston on guitar, so when he came to the table with some riffs and some ideas and some songs, not only did we think they were really cool and it was exciting, but this is a very authentic way to add his flavor, his textures and his sound to the record, which just helps — we think it just helps it grow. And on keys, João Nogueira, he was all over this record too. He did record on some Hushed And Grim stuff, but he was fully involved with this one as well. So, it’s a very healthy growth, because this is the first time ever we’ve been a five-piece, and everyone is very actively collaborating, contributing and writing. So, it was awesome energy,” he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
The recording lineup is Sanders on bass and vocals, Brann Dailor on drums and vocals, Bill Kelliher on guitar and backing vocals, Johnston on lead guitar and backing vocals, and Nogueira of The Claypool Lennon Delirium on keys and synths.
Marrow Deep is a harder, faster record than its predecessor, and Sanders put that down to five years of touring a very different album.
He continued: “I think coming off of Hushed And Grim, that was the whole lockdown, COVID album. We recorded what turned into a double album. And we had the time to just keep writing and exploring and lengthening songs, and we didn’t really edit ourselves whatsoever. So we’re very proud of Hushed And Grim as well, but now that that’s been out for nearly five years and we toured on it this whole time, I think the writing is a — my drummer Brann [Dailor] calls it a knee-jerk reaction to what we’ve done and what we’ve been touring on for the past five years. Without speaking of what direction we wanna go in, it just kind of happens naturally where Bill [Kelliher] and Brann started riffing very heavy, kind of just turning it back to Leviathan era almost, heavy, meaty, riff-driven songs. So I think it kinda comes naturally. We kinda did that after Crack The Skye in 2008, 2009. The next record was The Hunter, and it was just a drastically different album. So I think, looking back at those two transitions, it feels like a natural thing for us to, like, if we just did Hushed And Grim, which is a really long, drawn-out, dramatic album, which we’re happy and love very much, I think it just made sense to, let’s pick up the pace and let’s put our rock pants on and get to it…. At least that’s what I think what happened which led to the ultimate direction of the Marrow Deep record musically.”
Asked how he feels weeks out from release, Sanders admitted the album has been done long enough that he has lost his bearings on it.
“I’ve been feeling good about it for a long time, because we’ve been sitting on it for quite a while. Starting back to the beginning of the writing process, and then the actual honing in on the writing, doing all the demos, getting in the studio and recording it for real, and finishing… We finished the record — I don’t know — nine or 10 months ago. So we’ve kind of been living with it from the starting point for quite a while. So, I feel good about it, but in a great way, it’s been so long that I don’t know how to feel anymore. I’m very ready for it to come out to the world because we’ve been there since riff one, so the five of us, we like it and we’re very proud of it. But it’s gotten to that point where we just don’t know anymore. So it needs to come out, and hopefully people will dig it,” Sanders said.
He struck a similar note when the album was announced in July, saying in a statement: “Bill, Brann and myself are thrilled that we still have the opportunity to do this, and we’ve got other members who are just over the moon to be in the band with us. That’s a magical feeling that makes us keep wanting to go to band practice. It’s reminiscent of the very beginning of our band, where all members are hungry, we’re united, and excited to get to work. And we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to do this record.”
Marrow Deep is Mastodon‘s ninth studio album and their first in five years. It runs to twelve tracks and takes its themes from the Three Fates of Greek mythology. The band co-produced at their own West End Sound in Atlanta with Patrik Berger and Kurt Ballou, with Andrew Scheps mixing.
Marrow Deep tracklist:
- “Barbarians Blood”
- “Poisonous Weapons”
- “Your Ghost Again”
- “Snakes For Dinner”
- “Out Like A Lamb”
- “In The Ruins”
- “They’re Coming For You”
- “Golden Spires”
- “Moth And Bone”
- “A Vampire’s Demeanor”
- “The Vanishing”
- “The Three Fates”
The album’s “Snakes For Dinner“ features Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age, his first appearance on a Mastodon record since “Colony Of Birchmen” on 2006’s Blood Mountain. It followed “Your Ghost Again“, which the band debuted live with a dedication to Hinds and which placed second in a Revolver readers’ poll of the year’s best songs so far.
Johnston replaced founding guitarist Brent Hinds, who left in March 2025 and died five months later in a motorcycle accident in Atlanta at the age of 51. Hinds had played lead guitar and sung alongside Sanders, Dailor and Kelliher since 2000.
The “Poisonous Weapons Tour” opens on September 16 at Hard Rock Live in Orlando and finishes on October 24 at Sick New World Dallas, with Deafheaven and Alcest supporting throughout.
