It’s already been a busy year for beloved metal-ers Mastodon after releasing the terrific Emperor of Sand, but they show no sound of stopping. They had previously announced that they’d be releasing a follow-up EP, titled Cold Dark Place, on September 22nd via Reprise.
As a little piece to satiate the growing appetite of Mastodon fans, the quartet has served up “Toe to Toes” as a single from the upcoming 4 track record.
The track opens up with light, mystical guitar work before careening into a more typical Mastodon affair with a swirling, psychedelic lead. Even with Brann Dailor‘s busy stick work, “Toe to Toes” maintains a somewhat subdued quality with fluid bass lines and an expressive vocal delivery from Troy Sanders. He trades lines with Brent Hinds, who adds his touch over the chorus, which features airy playing that slides into a more triumphant mood when the solo comes in at the mid point.
Three of the songs on Cold Dark Place — “North Side Star”, “Blue Walsh” and “Cold Dark Place” — were recorded during the sessions for Mastodon’s 2014 album Once More ‘Round The Sun and were produced by Nick Raskulinecz, while “Toe To Toes” was recorded during the sessions for Emperor Of Sand, and was produced by Brendan O’Brien.
“I have way too many albums sitting around,” said Hinds in an interview with Loudwire. “I’ve been marinating on some of them for years thinking, ‘I don’t know if I even like this.’ All of a sudden, a friend of mine wanted to listen to it and I listened to it and I was like, ‘I wrote this? This is amazing! We should put this out.’ We’re putting out an album that I wrote entirely by myself called Cold Dark Place, which is basically myself. I’m a cold dark place. It’s the concept of living and how much it hurts to f—king be alive.”
After Cold Dark Place drops late September, a limited 10-inch picture disc vinyl version will arrive October 27.
Check out “Toe to Toes” below.
Photo Credit: Owen Ela
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