MASTODON Hopes To Release New Song Before Or During Tour With GOJIRA This Spring/Summer

In a new interview with Canada's The Metal Voice, MASTODON guitarist Bill Kelliher was asked if he and his bandmates have commenced the songwriting process for the follow-up to 2021's "Hushed And Grim" album. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "There's no shut-off valve for writing and riff writing and stuff like that; it's always happening. I'm always writing. 75 percent of my day I'm usually playing guitar and I'm always writing stuff. I've got lots of ideas.

"We're trying to be ambitious enough to write a song before we leave for this next GOJIRA tour and have it come out at some point — during the tour, before the tour, in between the two legs. Who knows?"

When asked to clarify if he and his bandmates have already started thinking about the next album, Bill said: "Absolutely. I'm always assembling riffs. I've got a few skeleton ideas. But it's been tough. Even though we've had this down time, I've still been busy doing other things. Life doesn't revolve around MASTODON for me. I've got two kids and a wife that I need to be there for, and my two dogs. There's a lot of stuff going on. But I'm definitely eager and really ready to get started writing the next record.

"There's no shortage of riffage or ideas or anything," he explained. "We've still got a lot of creativity left in our band, and as four different individual guys, and we're all a hundred percent committed to our band. So as soon as we get home from this touring cycle, which… We'll probably write a few ideas on the road. I'm ready to show the guys some of the stuff I've got and get a jumpstart so when we get home from the tour, it's, like, 'All right. We've got some ideas.'

"I own a recording studio, and that's where we did our last record, so it's real easy just to book some time there and just go down," Bill said. "And when we feel like being creative, we can. It's just different now that we have our own studio, instead of having to book time, and then you're on a schedule, and you're always looking at the clock. I feel like now we can be more creative and take our time, like we did on the last record."

As previously reported, MASTODON will join forces with GOJIRA for "The Mega-Monsters Tour", a massive co-headline tour across North America in 2023 along with special guests LORNA SHORE on all dates. The tour kicks off at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon on April 18, stops at legendary venues such as the Forum in Los Angeles, California on April 21, and steamrolls through MASTODON's hometown of Atlanta for their biggest Georgia headlining gig to date at the Ameris Bank Amphitheatre. The first leg concludes at Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania on May 11. Meanwhile, the tour resumes with a second leg from August 9 through September 2.

MASTODON's ninth studio album, "Hushed And Grim", was released in October 2021 via Reprise. The follow-up to 2017's "Emperor Of Sand" was recorded at West End Sound, which is located inside of Ember City, the rehearsal facility that members of MASTODON manage in Atlanta. Helming the effort was Grammy-winning producer/mixer/engineer David Bottrill, who has previously worked with MUSE, DREAM THEATER and TOOL, among many others. The creative process for "Hushed And Grim" was largely influenced by the untimely death of MASTODON's longtime friend and manager Nick John.

John, who also managed GOJIRA, passed away in September 2018 from pancreatic cancer.

The "Hushed And Grim" artwork was created by longtime MASTODON collaborator Paul Romano, who also designed the sleeves for "Crack The Skye", "Blood Mountain", "Leviathan" and more.