Mastodon Face Loss and Continuity on Marrow Deep

Mastodon’s ninth studio album, Marrow Deep, arrives a year after Brent Hinds was dismissed from the band and then killed in a motorcycle accident. Guitarist Nick Johnston and keyboardist João Nogueira join remaining members Brann Dailor, Bill Kelliher, and Troy Sanders for the group’s first release without Hinds.

The album largely preserves Mastodon’s signature blend of riff-driven aggression and progressive structure. Opener “Barbarians Blood” hits with familiar force. “Snakes For Dinner” leans into thrash edges, while “In The Ruins” shifts between calm passages and sharper emotional peaks. “Moth And Bone” opens with Nogueira’s clean, twinkling keys before the rest of the band pushes the track into heavier territory.

For all the technical chemistry on display, the record lacks some of the friction Hinds once provided. Dailor put the loss plainly: “With Brent, I’m just lucky to have met him. I think we wrote and played some of the most beautiful music that I’ve ever heard.”