Photo Credit: Mehreen Rizvi
In a unique move, American metal band Mastodon announced today limited edition vinyl release of 2026’s Marrow Deep featuring real fossils of their namesake animal. The pressing will contain fossilized mastodon teeth which have been grounded to dust, in a move inspired both by the animal itself and the album’s title. The white dust of the fossils create a striking image for the vinyl disc.
The band was gifted the fossils by a fan nearly 20 years ago, with the group unsure what to do with the non-display worthy relics. Bassist and vocalist Troy Sanders, inspired by the title and theme of the group’s most recent release, began to consider the idea of somehow pressing them within an actual record of Marrow Deep. With the help of Waxworks Records and the geology department at University of Georgia, the bones were ground into particles fine enough as to not impact the quality of the record’s sound, with the band visiting the plant to personally hand sprinkle the dust into each copy. The band shared a video behind the scenes explaining the story and showing off the process.
Due to the limited amount of dust, the pressing only resulted in 170 copies being made. The release will be released via an exclusive raffle format, in order to give fans and collectors alike an equal shot. Fans can register here before it closes on the 12th, with the vinyl expected to ship on the 16th.
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