Mastodon is gearing up for their next release, they talked about it a little today. Album has no title as of yet but they have song titles AND it looks like it's a
concept album about terminal illness and death.
So I'm really excited about this one. Musically they've already said it's in vein of Once More Round the Sun but pushing that sound further and adding more weird elements
But I'm incredibly excited to hear and see more, hopefully they're still working with Skinner on the album artwork but him and the band seem to be great friends so I can't see why they wouldn't be.
Some snippets from Rolling Stone
Like 2014's Once More Around the Sun, the new album will match the band's patented epic heaviness with a deeply emotional message on survival and death. The main protagonist within the new album's lyrics is handed a death sentence from a desert ruler, and then wanders an arid wasteland a metaphor for illness and doom.
"At the end of the story, the person simultaneously dies and is saved," says Dailor. "It's about going through cancer, going through chemotherapy and all the things associated with that. I didn't want to be literal about it. But it's all in there. You can read between the lines."
Song titles in the article are:
"Show Yourself"
"Precious Stones"
"Steambreather"
"Your Own Blood"
Other notable things:
-Theres acoustic guitar (Perhaps something in vein of Whitewalker)
-Produced by the producer of "Crack the Skye"
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/inside-mastodons-dark-emotional-new-lp-w456143