Mastodon releases 'Marrow Deep' following the deaths of Brent Hinds and Brann Dailor's mother

Mastodon released their new album 'Marrow Deep' on August 28 through Loma Vista Recordings, a record that came together under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. It is the band's first full studio album without guitarist Brent Hinds, who was removed from the band on acrimonious terms in early 2025 and passed away five months later in a motorcycle accident. At the same time, drummer and vocalist Brann Dailor lost his mother, Michele Lawrence, in February 2025. The album's title is a direct reference to these personal losses.

In an interview with iHeartRadio Canada, Dailor explained what the title means to him. "The marrow deep, it's as deep as you can get into a relationship. So, first and foremost my mother, but then a brother of 25 years," he said. He described how creating music together takes a friendship to another level, deeper than ordinary friendships. He considers both relationships, the one with his mother and the one with Hinds, to be the most fundamental of his life, which is why he felt the record had to carry that name.

The road to the studio was anything but smooth. The band started writing for the album a few years ago, paused that process for the twentieth anniversary tour of 'Leviathan' with Lamb of God, and then picked up where they left off. During that period, internal tensions with Hinds came to a head, Dailor lost his mother, and a European summer tour followed. Hinds passed away in late August 2025, and the band went into the studio roughly a week later. "We weren't sure, but it ended up being exactly what we needed," Dailor said in a conversation on SiriusXM's Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk, where he described how the band members supported one another and channelled every emotion directly into the music.

The album was co produced by the band themselves at their own West End Sound studio in Atlanta, alongside Patrik Berger, known for his work with Lana Del Rey and Charli XCX, and Kurt Ballou, who has previously worked with High on Fire and Converge. Mixing duties were handled by Andrew Scheps, who has collaborated with Adele, Black Sabbath and Metallica. 'Marrow Deep' is also the first Mastodon album to feature new guitarist Nick Johnston, alongside significant contributions from keyboardist João Nogueira. In the band statement accompanying the release, Troy Sanders, Dailor and Bill Kelliher write that having Johnston and Nogueira on board has felt like a tremendous source of support: "Having Nick and Joao beside us during this new chapter has been incredibly uplifting and genuinely awesome!"

Musically, the album has made an immediate impression. Opening track 'Barbarian's Blood' has been described by critics as a synthesis of everything Mastodon has done over the years, from the raw energy of early albums like 'Remission' and 'Call of the Mastodon' to the broader atmospheres of more recent records, rounded out by a keyboard solo that feels like a genuinely new dimension for the band. The second single 'Snakes for Dinner' features a guest contribution from Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, who also appeared on the classic Mastodon track 'Colony of Birchmen' back in 2006. The third advance single was titled 'In the Ruins'.

Around the time of the release, Dailor, Sanders and Kelliher also put out the thirty minute documentary 'The Mastodon in the Room', in which the three musicians speak candidly about the split with Hinds and his death. Sanders described how he noticed the growing rift within the band: "I could see the disconnect happening and the enthusiasm getting less and less, overall camaraderie as a four piece dwindling." The hope for reconciliation had been there, but Hinds' passing made that impossible. When asked whether Hinds would have appreciated the album, Dailor said he believes Hinds would have loved a large part of it and would have wanted to put his own stamp on it.

Mastodon is celebrating the release with 'The Poisonous Weapons Tour', which kicks off on September 16 in Orlando and wraps up on October 24 in Dallas at Sick New World. Deafheaven and Alcest will support the band on this run. Dutch fans will be keeping a close eye on things, as Mastodon has been considered one of the most influential names in progressive metal for decades, and a European leg traditionally follows a North American run.