Mastodon have released a new single titled “Your Ghost Again,” the first preview of their yet-to-be-announced nintth studio album.
“Your Ghost Again” deals directly with the band’s feelings following the tragic passing of former guitarist Brent Hinds last year at only 51 years old.
“Your Ghost Again” features the new expanded five-piece lineup of Mastodon, including new guitarist Nick Johnston and longtime touring and session keyboardist João Nogueira as full-time members.
The song is a powerful return to the overactive sludge metal of the band’s early years with strong reminiscence of Leviathan, their initial breakthrough album, especially in its ferocious drumming and country licks. The chorus is the enormous emotionalism of Mastodon’s prog rock years with the outro featuring both a classic prog keyboard-driven section and an absolutely vicious closing sludge riff.
Drummer and vocalist Brann Dailor said, “‘Your Ghost Again’ is about being in those familiar places you used to be with people all the time, which for us was in the studio. I just kept seeing [Brent] out of the corner of my eye, where he would normally be with his guitar. It’s about that: Your mind plays tricks on you, especially so soon after someone dies and you’re in the places where they always were. You just see them.”
Guitarist Bill Kelliher said, “We wanted to pick a song that sounds like Mastodon, and that has all the things in there, because it’s the first impression of what people are gonna hear. It speaks about things that have just happened and people passing, I could go deep but I don’t want to because a lot of that shit’s personal.”
Bassist and vocalist Troy Sanders said, “The bridge lyrics are two lines of pure gratitude towards Brent. It’s ‘all the gifts from you, now you can take them back where you must go,’ meaning you came into my life, you exposed me to things that blew my mind, together we conquered thousands of stages around the world, had magical moments that we can never repeat again, but all the beauty that you brought it still remains, always will.”
Mastodon are about to kick off a UK/European tour, and they’ve just announced a fall North American outing featuring support from Deafheaven and Alcest. An artist pre-sale begins Wednesday, June 3rd, at 10 a.m. local time using the code MASTO26 via Ticketmaster, with a general on-sale starting Friday, June 5th, at 10 a.m. local time.
Check out the new song “Your Ghost Again” below.
