Mastodon want to get ‘more proggy’ on new album

Brann Dailor
Brann Dailor (Image credit: Getty)

Mastodon drummer and vocalist Brann Dailor says he’d like to see the band explore a “more proggy” sound on their next album.

Guitarist Brent Hinds previously said the follow-up to 2014’s Once More ‘Round The Sun would likely be a double-length. And while Dailor didn’t go into detail about the running time of what will be the US outfit’s seventh album, he says the band are hard at work putting ideas together.

Speaking to TeamRock at Bloodstock before Mastodon’s headline set at the festival tonight (Saturday), Dailor says: “It sounds like Mastodon to me but an updated version. We always try to push to hear something new and hear something different, so that’s what’s going on.

“It’s impossible to tell somebody what something sounds like so I’ll spare the details but so far so good – we go with what we know, play what we like and if we don’t like it, we don’t play it.”

He continues: “I’d like to get a little more proggy, and have a little more space and play around with dynamics a little bit more – just dive a little deeper with some of the riffs and some of the parts. Just get more explorative and push in that direction and say where normally there’s a stopping point, try to push beyond it. We’ll see what that yields.”

The full interview with Dailor will feature on an upcoming episode of the Metal Hammer: In Residence podcast on Spotify.

Following their appearance at Bloodstock, Mastodon will play a string of dates across Europe, including sets at this month’s Reading and Leeds festivals.

Mastodon remaining tour dates 2016

Aug 14: Belfast Limelight, UK
Aug 15: Dublin Academy, Ireland
Aug 17: Cologne Live Music Hall, Germany
Aug 18: Pukkelpop, Belgium
Aug 19: Summer Breeze Festival, Germany
Aug 20: Hamburg Elb-Riot Festival, Germany
Aug 22: Warsaw Progresja Music Zone, Poland
Aug 23: Berlin Huxleys Neue Weit, Germany
Aug 24: Vienna Arena, Austria
Aug 27: Reading Festival, UK
Aug 28: Leeds Festival, UK
Aug 30: Athens Piraeus Academy, Greece

Mastodon's Brann Dailor talks twerking and why he loves prog

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Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.