Mastodon хамтлаг шинэ цомогтоо Black Sabbath-ийн домогт басс гитарчин Гизер Батлерыг урьжээ

Speaking of those guests, perhaps the coolest of them all is one of the architects of heavy metal, Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler, who plays bass on “The Vanishing.”

Dailor: We were so steeped in Sabbath for months and months and months doing that “Back to the Beginning” show, and even just being asked [to play that concert], it was like, “Whoa. Really?” So, it was fresh in our minds as well, and we just had this track that was very, very Sabbath-y… We leaned into the Sabbath on that one, so we thought it would be the perfect to try to get Geezer to do an intro. And I think he wrote back that he wanted to do it, and we were like, “Oh, my God, he said yes.”

He’s like, “You guys want something like ‘N.I.B.’?” And we’re like, “Uh, yeah, that’d be cool. Sure, yeah, just whip that up.” But then as soon as he sent it over, like, oh my God, we were just so excited about it and just hearing that first… like, literally he coulda just hit an open E and we would’ve been like, “That’s Geezer Butler right there.” But the thing he gave us is so beautiful and so quintessentially Geezer and Sabbath. It’s just so beautiful. I’m so over the moon grateful that he said yes, and then performed something so amazing to boot.

[“The Vanishing” is] kind of about me going out into the cosmos and making sure that my mother’s constellation hooked up with my sister’s constellation, and that they’re okay and they’re together. And Geezer was my mom’s favorite from Sabbath. She was a big Sabbath fan since before I was born, like early ’70s when they had first come out, my mom and dad kind of bonded over Black Sabbath. They were Sabbath hippies. There was a crowbar separation between Grateful Dead hippies and Sabbath hippies. I just thought that was really awesome, and my mom would’ve loved that so much. I mean, just telling her that we had been one of the bands that was chosen to play “Back to the Beginning,” she knew that that was gonna happen, and she just started bawling when I told her what was going on. She was like, “Oh, my God.” So, she was just so proud and so excited that we had anything to do with Black Sabbath, being acknowledged by the forefathers of heavy metal.

And for you Troy, as a fellow bassist, what’s it like to have one of your bass heroes on a Mastodon album?

Sanders: I mean, it’s truly unbelievable or borderline unfathomable. I remember when Geezer sent his intro bit back over… We have been lucky enough to have a lot of moments that if you went back to teenage Brann and teenage Troy and Bill and Nick, and you said something that’s happened in our band’s career, it would blow our minds. Well, that’s like unbelievably the umpteenth time that’s been mind-blowing. So, to say that we’re beyond excited and grateful is an understatement… I don’t know what other beautiful adjectives there are out there. It’s dreamy. It’s unbelievable. It’s magical. It’s unreal. How did this happen? Thank you. Thank you, Black Sabbath.

As far as the band’s current lineup, João Nogueira has been touring with you guys since 2021, and Nick Johnston was brought in last year. It appears they’ve been welcomed with open arms, and have already made major contributions to Mastodon.

Sanders: They love our band’s history, they love our band’s present. They are excited to be a part of what Brann, Bill, and I are doing. They want to go to band practice, they wanna play shows, they wanna create the best music possible and collaborate with one another.

Their energy and their shot of adrenaline that they authentically have given me, and I think given us, is undeniable. And just to touch on the closing track of the record, “The Three Fates,” that last four minutes of that song that João and Nick put together — when I hear the end of that record, if and when I and others had any concerns or doubts of where Mastodon might be headed after all that’s transpired over the past two years, that just solidifies that we are just shooting into the future full steam ahead. And that gives me a lot of hope and it gives me a lot of pride.

So to me, when I’m hanging around my four dudes, when we’re walking around and playing a show and eating dinner and touring the world as a five-piece, I’ve never felt more invigorated and as proud to be in Mastodon in quite some time. I’m chalking it up to some more aligning of the stars and some fate coming our way and aligning people with the same vision and drive and an agenda. And it’s like, man, it’s hard to find one person like that in your life, much less two, three, and now four others. So I’m soaking up every second of it, and I can’t wait to write more music.

We’ve spoken about Brent Hinds and Brann’s mom, but there has been a history of loss throughout Mastodon’s career, whether it be the band’s longtime manager Nick John to pancreatic cancer in 2018 or other family members over the years. Can you talk about that process of channeling grief into music, and whether it’s a cathartic experience for you to do so?

Sanders: To me it is [cathartic], very much so. It’s extremely helpful. During the Crack the Skye writing in 2008, 2009, Brann kind of opened my eyes to the way he was opening his own heart with diving into lyrics and subject matter that’s very personal and very naked… that’s how you feel when you’re in a vulnerable situation.
And then, fortunately or unfortunately, a few albums since then, we’ve done the same thing. And I find I’ve never said, “Hey, Brann, can we shove these sad tragedies aside, and write about something else?” That’s because of the way Crack the Skye was approached, it became evident to me that there’s a lot of strength there, and there’s truth, and there’s authenticity from ourselves.

And with this new record, Marrow Deep, for me personally, it was very helpful for me to process what’s happening in my heart and in my brain. When I can pen things on paper, it helps me personally, and then it helps me artistically, and I align with Brann. And as co-lyricists of the band, we’re on the same page with what we’re putting into the album from a lyrical perspective, so I’m into it, even though it’s a bummer sometimes.

Dailor: Yeah, it definitely helps. Grief has a physical manifestation. You can talk about it years later, and maybe, it gets easier as it goes on. But when you’re in the initial first month of losing somebody close, it just weighs heavy on you. I didn’t particularly want to get out of bed some days. And luckily I had the guys down there at the studio, and forced myself to get in the car and drive over there, and then get behind my drums.

And even though the sticks felt a little heavier in my hands, once we started leaning into stuff, even just the preoccupation of trying to think your way out of a transition from a verse to a chorus, it’s helpful just to get you through the day. And then after a full day of working on music and leaning on each other, when I would drive home to have dinner with my wife, I felt better than I did when I woke up.

So, little increments like that every day is all you can hope for. I consider us really lucky to have this. But this is what people go through. Everybody goes through this at some point. I know it seems like we’ve had more than our fair share, and maybe we have, I don’t know, but we feel like it’s helpful to be vocal about it and then include it into the story. And because of the fact that everybody goes through it, then it can be helpful to the fans. I think that the feelings that are represented and put out there through the music is transferable. And so we hear it all the time, people come up and share their stories with us. And so I think it’s been a good thing because we’re just trying to connect with people, and this is the best way to do it, I think.

Another way to connect with people, of course, is going on tour. And you have an awesome bill this fall in North America, with Mastodon headlining, and featuring support from Deafheaven and Alcest.

Dailor: We’ve known those guys for a while, for years. But I think it was a year and a half or two years ago, I can’t remember, it was Sick New World maybe, or one of those big festivals we were playing with them, and we got to talking about it and decided to, that would be an awesome bill, and we should do that. I’m excited to be inspired and fired up from Alcest and Deafheaven, because it always helps everybody to have kick-ass bands that open for you. It just inspires you… you’re like, “Okay, this, this show is gonna be awesome and these people are gonna get rocked, and it’s gonna be sweet.”

Sanders: Yeah, the full bill is important to us, and we want to have a great show. And, more importantly, we want everyone at the show to have a great night and a solid experience. And we haven’t headlined in a while around the States. We’ve done some co-headlining things a couple years back. But with the new album under our belt, I think we’re all on the same page of being super excited about a headlining run around North America.