In an age when it is simply not enough to announce an EP using traditional media, musicians look for innovative ways to break their news. Tori Amos revealed plans for a North American tour via Facebook Live, which is not something that’s usually done. Jay-Z purchased an entire streaming service to exclusively release his albums on. Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo, embroiled in controversy from the beginning, was one of the most anticipated albums of 2016. West offered prizes for anyone who could figure out what “TLOP” (The Life of Pablo) stood for before the album released.

On Sunday, Mastodon took a different route, one that led them south from beyond the wall. In last night’s season finale of HBO’s Game of Thrones, bandmates Brann Dailor, Bill Kelliher, and Brent Hinds appeared as White Walkers, the infamous icy zombies of Westeros. The three walkers luckily didn’t try to break the fourth wall for their EP announcement, though they timed the cameo and EP release in tandem.

Cold Dark Place features three unreleased tracks Mastodon recorded during sessions for their 2014 album, Once More ‘Round the Sun. The final song, “Toe to Toes,” is from their latest album, Emperor of Sand. The Cold Dark Place EP will be available for purchase on September 22nd. On October 27th, the band will release a 10″ picture disc vinyl version of the EP.

Funnily enough, the band isn’t new to Game of Thrones. In season five they played Wildlings, a choice made out of their apparent affinity for the lawless North. They even recorded a song, “White Walker,” for HBO’s release in 2015’s of Catch the Throne: Volume II mixtape.

Mastodon, of Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 2000. They play heavy metal, and each band member contributes vocally, except for Bill Kelliher, one of two guitarists. Even Kelliher will sing at live shows, just not in the studio. This is not typical of most bands. Mastodon isn’t like most bands. They apply innovative concepts and surprising instrumentation to their music. In 2004, their album Leviathan, based on Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, had three Album of the Year awards from three publications, and was even named best metal album of the 21st century by MetalSucks, a popular music-news website. Heavy metal often seems to deal with large concepts of Biblical proportion, Moby-Dick is no exception, but yet again, an innovative step from within a traditional genre.

Cold Dark Place Tracklist:

1. North Side Star
2. Blue Walsh
3. Toe to Toes
4. Cold Dark Place

Photography Credit: Owen Ela