It’s the one-year anniversary of Mastodon’s new album, Hushed and Grim, and long-time fans of the heavy metal band will be excited to hear that there’s more material where that came from. Studio album number eight was released at the end of October 2021 and drummer Brann Dailor itted the band has plenty more material left over that didn’t quite make the cut.
In a recent interview with Danny Wimmer Presents, Dailor confirmed the band was set to hone its remaining material after the end of their tour with Spiritbox and Ghost. Dailor said the band had no intention of twiddling their thumbs after another successful tour, with plans to “get back in the studio and mess with some things”.
Mastodon had too many tracks to choose from for Hushed and Grim
Dailor said there were a “bunch of songs” that didn’t get the “full treatment” in studio from last year. The drummer itted he “really liked” the vibe of some of the material left off Hushed and Grim, and teased fans that they may just hear new music from Mastodon “sooner than later”.
Mastodon isn’t historically content with doing nothing when they’re off-stage. After the launch of studio album number seven, Emperor of Sand, the band took the opportunity to appear in HBO’s Game of Thrones series as White Walkers in the finale of season seven.
Game of Thrones is one of the most popular TV series in global pop culture, so it was a feather in the cap of Brent Hinds, Bill Kelliher and Dailor that they were invited to appear in the episode titled ‘The Dragon and the Wolf’. The HBO franchise drew to a close in 2019, but a prequel has taken its place for the time being, in the shape of House of the Dragon. With the prequel dating back 200 years before Game of Thrones, ExpressVPN’s Targaryen family tree expertly explains how the bloodline moves from House of the Dragon through to the original cast. The legend shows which characters sat on the Iron throne, as well as the various marriages and unions between Targaryen and non-Targaryen people throughout this dynasty.
Dailor has also been busy with his other band Arcadea
During the same interview, Dailor revealed that his other project was hard at work on its second studio album release. Dailor is part of the three-pronged band involving Core Atoms and Raheem Amlani, founded in Atlanta, Georgia in 2015. Their self-titled debut album arrived in the summer of 2017, bringing a refreshing brand of synth metal to the industry.
In of inspirations for Arcadea, Dailor told Revolver Mag that the progressive rock bands of the 1970s played a key part, such as Genesis, as well as funk and soul icon Stevie Wonder. The debut album contained no guitar music, much to the surprise of Mastodon fans intrigued by Dailor’s side project. They will have been even more surprised to see that Dailor was responsible for lead vocals, with Atoms and Amlani responsible for keyboard and synthesizers.
With more than five years ed since Arcadea’s first LP, there is a great sense of intrigue about their second effort. One thing is for sure, Dailor looks set to be camping out in the studio for the rest of 2022, even if Mastodon are no longer on tour.
Header photo by wilfried Vowoto on Unsplash
