Mastodon drummer and singer Brann Dailor says the late guitarist Brent Hinds and his own mother were two people who seemed to get away with everything, and that the two of them are hiding behind the lyrics of the band’s new album, Marrow Deep.
“`The Two Losses Behind the Album
Dailor spoke on «The Downbeat Podcast», hosted by Stray From The Path drummer Craig Reynolds. He explained that the album’s lyrics deal with the loss of his mother, Michele, who died in February 2025, and of Hinds, who was killed in a motorcycle accident in Atlanta on 20 August 2025, five months after he and Mastodon parted ways.
As he put it, he found similarities between Brent and his mother: people everyone believed had nine lives. His mother was constantly in and out of hospital and had «died» four times before coming back, while Brent was one of those who kept walking toward the deep end and wanted to take you along. «She got away with things other people could not», he noted, saying he saw them as Keith Richards-type people: if the big bomb went off, Keith, his mother, Brent and the cockroaches would still be there. In the end, though, as he admitted, «it catches up with all of us».
The Three Fates and the Album’s Theme
Dailor explained that the record is tied to the myth of the Three Fates, which also gave the album its cover. In Greek mythology the three Fates spin, measure and cut the thread of every person’s life, and the album closes with a track called «The Three Fates». Most of the lyrics were written after the band went into the studio: as he said, the bulk of the music was ready, but only «Out Like A Lamb» and «Poisonous Weapons» had lyrics.
Entering the Studio
The recording sessions were already booked when Hinds died, and Dailor almost did not go. They entered the studio about seven days after his death and he admits he doubted it, since he was not in a good place, mentally or physically. With time, though, he judges that working with the rest of the band was better for him than staying in bed. They started with «Barbarians Blood» and, as he noted, the fact that the record is complex, with a lot going on, helped him keep his mind busy working on the details of each day. João and Nick helped too, even though they are not «as deep inside» as the old members with a 25-year relationship.
The Album, the Lawsuit and the Tour
Marrow Deep came out on 28 August through Loma Vista Recordings. It is the first Mastodon album with guitarist Nick Johnston, while keyboardist João Nogueira plays a big part. Production is credited to the band together with Patrik Berger and Kurt Ballou at West End Sound in Atlanta, with mixing by Andrew Scheps.
Dailor, bassist and singer Troy Sanders and guitarist Bill Kelliher talked about Hinds’ death in the documentary «The Mastodon In The Room», wanting people to hear their side after the rumours. On 3 September Hinds’ estate filed a lawsuit in Fulton County against the band and the three remaining founding members, claiming that Hinds was never bought out of his share in Mastodon before he died and that his image was used on the cover and the promotion of Marrow Deep, an album he did not play on. Mastodon have said they will contest the claims.
The band is on the «The Poisonous Weapons» tour with Deafheaven and Alcest, which wraps up on 24 October at the Sick New World Texas festival at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
See also: MASTODON – Marrow Deep · MASTODON: New single «In The Ruins» from Marrow Deep
Source: https://blabbermouth.net/news/mastodons-brann-dailor-brent-hinds-got-away-with-a-lot-of-things-that-other-people-wouldnt-be-able-to
