Mastodon are in the Studio Right Now with Producer Brendan O’Brien
That “dark pop” album guitarist Bill Kelliher hinted at in a recent interview? Seems like Mastodon’s next record is on track to be released in the first half of 2017 as he promised.
Kelliher’s co-guitarist Brent Hinds posted a short video clip to Instagram yesterday in which drummer Brann Dailor appears to be getting ready to track drums. If Mastodon are recording this thing all in one shot — which seems likely, given no upcoming tour dates — then it’ll probably be finished within the next month or two.
Hinds also name-checks mega-producer Brendan O’Brien in the video’s description. O’Brien is best known for his work with every famous ’90s rock band ever, including Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Offspring and more, though he’s remained active since then as well, working with Incubus, The Killers, AC/DC, The Fray and countless others. More to the point, he produced Mastodon’s 2009 effort Crack the Skye. Which could mean any number of things for Mastodon: perhaps there’s something about this upcoming album that they felt would be best-suited to O’Brien’s style; maybe they realized O’Brien is their man after having worked with two different producers since (Mike Elizondo and Nick Raskulinecz); or perhaps they just wanted to shake it up a bit, but with a familiar face.
In any case, count me stoked. I’m a big fan of Crack the Skye — it’s the last Mastodon album I truly loved — and I’m hoping that, together with O’Brien, they can capture that magic once again.
