Mastodon triumph over grief on Marrow Deep

It runs its veins through everything once it becomes an apparent actor after tragedy. This is something Atlanta metallers Mastodon have always been distinctly aware of. Since their 2002 debut, their music has lended itself, but never been over burdened by the list of sad events that have occurred throughout their lives, including the loss of vocalist and drummer Brann Dailor's sister, guitarist Bill Kelliher's mother, and their longtime manager.

But, in more recent times, with the rancorous split with guitarist Brent Hinds in 2025, and later that year his subsequent death – not to mention the loss of Dailor's mother in the same time period – the once four-piece, now five-piece completed by guitarist Nick Johnston and keyboardist João Nogueira, are returning for the first time since these events with their ninth album, Marrow Deep.

For all the imagery of dark reality that's become a Mastodon calling card, this time there's a wandering hope that glows within. The group are working their way out of the black and into the blue.

Indeed, this is a new dawn for Mastodon, somber maybe, but still new. What lies beyond is in the hands of Marrow Deep, and it shows that even over two decades, the power and might is still present.

What this offering does is finds that sturdy, riff-barreling throughline of theirs and with the new company on board, expands into proggier territory without becoming cheap ("Your Ghost Again" lets Nogueira fully loose). It's the sound of a band at a crossroads and knowing the only path forward is to accept the past and hope the future treats them kinder.

With that, the fury is indeed wonderful. "A Vampire's Demeanour" rollicks, while opener "Barbarian's Blood" is thick with a pummelling atmosphere as guitars siren around a low-end with enough punch to cause a tectonic shift. That's not to mention "Out Like A Lamb" is some of the heaviest work Mastodon have done in years. Even vocalist and bassist Troy Sanders' throaty mania has new majestic power, particularly on "Poisonous Weapons" which lyrically posits the groups relationships with Hinds in a more complex light.

In their discography Marrow Deep will be the entry that garners the most examination from outsiders. It's their first with a lineup shift, and not just that, but a dealing with the grief of fatally losing a founding member while adding two more into the mix. Thankfully it doesn't wallow, instead it kicks up the dust, rages at the circumstance, and keeps the course for where Mastodon were supposed to be heading anyway – the future.