- Country: USA
- Style: Progressive sludge metal
- Label: Loma Vista Recordings
- Release date: 28 August 2026
Marrow Deep is the first Mastodon album made without Brent Hinds, who left the band and then died in 2025, and the grief is written into every groove. It’s also their first as a five-piece: prog guitarist Nick Johnston and keyboardist João Nogueira are now full members alongside Brann Dailor, Troy Sanders and Bill Kelliher. The band recorded it at West End Sound in Atlanta and co-produced it with Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou and pop producer Patrik Berger, a pairing that sounds strange on paper and works remarkably well.
You can hear Ballou in the low end. The bass and drums have a raw, physical punch that recalls the band’s early, rougher records, while Andrew Scheps’ mix keeps everything clear even when Johnston, Kelliher and Nogueira’s keys are all stacked on top of each other. Ted Jensen’s mastering is loud but not crushed, so Dailor’s fills still breathe. Berger’s influence shows in the song structures, which are tighter and more hook-driven than on Hushed and Grim.
Johnston is the key addition. Where Hinds brought chaotic, twangy lead work, Johnston’s playing is more fluid and precise, and he slots into Kelliher’s riffs without trying to imitate his predecessor. Nogueira’s keyboards, meanwhile, add colour rather than cheese, especially on the prog-heavy closer “The Three Fates”.
The guest list is huge: Josh Homme returns on “Snakes For Dinner” for the first time since Blood Mountain, Clutch’s Neil Fallon adds a menacing spoken bridge to “The Three Fates”, Randy Blythe and Nate Newton turn up on “A Vampire’s Demeanor” and Gojira’s Joe Duplantier joins “The Vanishing”. Impressively, none of them overshadow the band.
At over an hour, the record sags slightly in its middle stretch. But “Your Ghost Again”, written about seeing Hinds out of the corner of your eye in the studio, is one of the most moving songs Mastodon have ever released, and the album as a whole proves the band has a future.
Best tracks:
Your Ghost Again
Snakes For Dinner
The Vanishing
The Three Fates
Author’s rating: 8.5/10
