New Mastodon music is on its way! This Friday (31st), these Atlanta progressive metal masters are expected to release a new single titled “Fallen Torches.” You can hear a preview of the upcoming song via the band’s website. The track is taken from what’s apparently going to be a new rarities compilation, Medium Rarities, which is currently set to arrive on September 11th.
Before the pandemic, Mastodon were working on the follow-up to 2017’s Emperor of Sand. However, the COVID-19 epidemic has taken a toll as their initial recording plans have shifted. This past May, guitarist Bill Kelliher appeared on an episode of the RocknRoll Beer Guy podcast. During that discussion, he provided an update on new material and revealed the group worked on a new song for the upcoming Bill & Ted movie.
“We were kind of right in the middle of it [writing a new album] and we had about, I don’t know, 20 rough songs recorded right before this [the COVID-19 pandemic] hit. And it just totally put the brakes on it…”
As states have been slowly reopening, and others seeing another lockdown, we will soon find out if Mastodon were able to continue working on their forthcoming eighth studio full-length effort.
