Mastodon Share ‘In The Ruins’ Ahead of First New Album In 5 Years
Mastodon have just shared “In The Ruins,” a song from their highly anticipated new album Marrow Deep (out August 28 via Loma Vista Recordings) inspired by the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene and the personal havoc it wreaked upon bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders and his family. The catastrophic storm severely flooded their home and destroyed personal belongings, leading to a nearly two year period of displacement that coincided with the whole band navigating the profound grief of the passings of founding member Brent Hinds and drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor’s mother Michele Lawrence, ultimately channeling the loss into a powerful declaration of resilience and catharsis. The song comes paired with a vibrant video by animation and VFX studio, Hey Beautiful Jerk, that depicts a fever dream journey by a single-eyed creature named Frank across flooded and ruined landscapes that serves as a metaphor for the song’s lyrics.
Speaking on the video, Hey Beautiful Jerk states: “The initial inspiration for Frank and the concept for ‘In The Ruins’ came to me when I was in the ER for 10 hours with the worst eye infection of my life. The pain was so bad it felt like my eye was revolting and wanted to escape my head. I had just talked to Brann about the meaning of the song and how it was inspired by his and Troy’s recent losses. The expression ‘picking up the pieces’ came to me and I sketched a very rough version of Frank on my phone, capturing the idea as fast as I could before my eye wanted to escape my face once again.”
Marrow Deep documents founding members Brann Dailor, Troy Sanders, and Bill Kelliher emerging from years of personal upheaval and grief with a renewed sense of purpose and reinvigoration, resulting in some of the most expansive, adventurous, and emotionally resonant music of their storied career. The album marks the band’s first full-length to feature guitarist Nick Johnston alongside significant contributions from keyboardist João Nogueira. The latest single arrives in the wake of previous singles “Snakes For Dinner,” an emotionally charged epic featuring Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme, and “Your Ghost Again,” which quickly emerged as an immediate fan favorite on their recent European tour and was ranked #2 on a Revolver reader’s poll of best songs of 2026 so far.
In addition to Josh Homme, the album features a sprawling list of guest performers. Neil Fallon of Clutch lends spoken word to “The Three Fates.” “A Vampire’s Demeanor” has guest gang vocals from Lamb of God vocalist Randy Blythe and Converge bassist Nate Newton. Album opener “Barbarians Blood” features percussion from Converge drummer Ben Koller. And none other than Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler plays the intro on “The Vanishing,” which also includes guest vocals from Joe Duplantier of Gojira. The growing anticipation for the album has driven a sell out of the deluxe edition of the vinyl, with limited quantities of the standard edition still available here.
The band will celebrate the release with the upcoming The Poisonous Weapons Tour, a nationwide run of dates with support from Deafheaven and Alcest. Kicking off September 16 in Orlando, the trio of bands will cut their way across the full country before closing out October 24 at Sick New World Dallas. Find full dates and a link for tickets and VIP packages below.
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