According to BrooklynVegan.com, Mastodon has released their first new music since parting ways with co-founding vocalist/guitarist Brent Hinds and his death last year at 51 years old. “Your Ghost Again,” a tribute to Hinds, was produced by Patrik Berger and Kurt Ballou of Converge and it is the first single off their highly anticipated ninth album, which is still to be announced.

In a behind-the-scenes video posted on the band’s social media, drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor says: “‘Your Ghost Again’ is about being in those familiar places you used to be with people all the time, which for us was in the studio. I just kept seeing [Brent] out of the corner of my eye, where he would normally be with his guitar. It’s about that: Your mind plays tricks on you, especially so soon after someone dies and you’re in the places where they always were. You just see them.”

“We wanted to pick a song that sounds like Mastodon, and that has all the things in there, because it’s the first impression of what people are gonna hear,” guitarist/vocalist Bill Kelliher adds. “It speaks about things that have just happened and people passing, I could go deep but I don’t want to because a lot of that shit’s personal.”

“The bridge lyrics are two lines of pure gratitude towards Brent,” bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders says. “It’s ‘all the gifts from you, now you can take them back where you must go,’ meaning you came into my life, you exposed me to things that blew my mind, together we conquered thousands of stages around the world, had magical moments that we can never repeat again, but all the beauty that you brought it still remains, always will.”

Also, Mastodon has announced a fall tour that wraps up with their set at the Fort Worth edition of Sick New World. Shows begin on September 16, in Orlando and they have lined up killer support from Deafheaven and Alcest.  The NYC show is at Brooklyn Paramount on September 24. Tickets to that and all dates go on sale Friday, June 5, at 10 a.m. local, with various presales starting on Wednesday, June 3, at 10 a.m. local by clicking here.

Mastodon Tour Dates

9/16 – Orlando, FL – Hard Rock ^
9/18 – Asheville, NC – Asheville Yards ^
9/19 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE ^
9/20 – Louisville, KY – Louder than Life ^
9/22 – Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall ^
9/23 – Boston, MA – House of Blues ^
9/24 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount ^
9/25 – Washington, DC – Anthem ^
9/27 – Montreal, QC – MTelus ^
9/28 – Toronto, ON – Rebel ^
9/29 – Buffalo, NY – Buffalo Riverworks ^
10/1 – Detroit, MI – Fillmore ^
10/2 – Chicago, IL – The Riviera ^
10/3 – Minneapolis, MN – Palace ^
10/6 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex ^
10/7 – Boise, ID – Revolution ^
10/9 – Oakland, CA – The Fox ^
10/10 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium ^
10/11 – San Diego, CA – The Sound ^
10/14 – Denver, CO – Fillmore ^
10/16 – Des Moines, IA – Val Air Ballroom ^
10/17 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant ^
10/18 – Memphis, TN – Satellite Music Hall ^
10/20 – Cleveland, OH – Agora ^
10/21 – Greensboro, NC – Piedmont Hall ^
10/22 – Atlanta, GA – The Eastern ^
10/24 – Dallas, TX – Sick New World Dallas

^ = w/ Deafheaven and Alcest

Photo Credit: Boston Lynn Schulz