Mastodon Unleash New Song, Fallen Torches, Before 20th Anniversary Rarities Album In September
Pioneering Atlanta four-piece Mastodon are celebrating two decades of psychedelic aggression with the 16-track Medium Rarities album.
Mastodon have been defiant, strange and delightful for 20 years, but only now is the the true extent of their weirdness becoming clear.
The GRAMMY-winning quartet have just released the song Fallen Torches, and revealed that the tracklist for September's Medium Rarities album includes a Flaming Lips cover, a live version of Metallica's Orion, and a guest appearance from Butthole Surfers' Gibby Haynes. The album will, naturally, be pressed on pink vinyl.
Fallen Torches, which features guest vocals from Scott Kelly of Neurosis, will sit alongside live versions of Capillarian Crest, Circle Of Cysquatch and Blood And Thunder. Another new track named Rufus Lives will appear as part of the soundtrack to Bill & Ted Face The Music, which is expected to be released on August 28.
Read this: Mastodon: 20 years of triumph, tragedy and scaling the metal mountain
Mastodon teased Fallen Torches to Kerrang! back in January last year, with guitarist Bill Kelliher describing it as "a basher" and "brutal" while drummer Brann Dailor said, "It's as heavy as I've heard us in a while."
This is Mastodon's first new music since 2017's monumental Emperor Of Sand, but it comes as the result of a long-standing and fruitful relationship with Scott, who famously joined the band for an unforgettable set in the K! Pit back in February 2019.
Stream Fallen Torches below:
Mastodon are currently at work on their hotly-anticipated ninth full-length album, with the release date to be confirmed. You can pre-order Medium Rarities now, and check out the glorious full tracklist below.
Mastodon: Medium Rarities tracklist:
1. Fallen Torches (Previously Unreleased)
2. A Commotion (Feist Cover)
3. Asleep in the Deep (Instrumental version)
4. Capillarian Crest (Live)
5. A Spoonful Weighs A Ton (The Flaming Lips Cover)
6. Toe To Toes (Instrumental version)
7. Circle of Cysquatch (Live)
8. Atlanta (Feat. Gibby Haynes)
9. Jaguar God (Instrumental)
10. Cut You Up With A Linoleum Life (Aqua Teen Hunger Force)
11. Blood & Thunder (Live)
12. White Walker (Game of Thrones)
13. Halloween (Instrumental version)
14. Crystal Skull (Live)
15. Orion (Metallica Cover)
16. Iron Tusk (Live)
The artwork looks like this: