Mastodon's Troy Sanders Talks Once More Round The Sun

  • Mastodon's Troy Sanders Talks Once More Round The Sun
    POSTED

    Mastodon’s Troy Sanders recently talked toFull Metal Jackie about the band’s new albumOnce More Round The Sun.

    Check it out below!

    So, Mastodon have a new album called Once More Round the Sun. Its coming out June 24. Troy, The Hunter charted Top 10 on Billboard and got high year-end praise from some pretty major media outlets. What aspects of that album and the way it was received became a starting point for Once More Round the Sun?

    Well, thats a very good question. I see them as two different pieces separated by a two-year gap, by traveling and touring on it so much. Ive been asked, Does this new record take off where The Hunter left us? I think to a degree, yes, because we basically wrote The Hunter, recorded it, and toured on it for about two years. Then about a year ago from today, around March of 2013, we reconvened in our practice space in Atlanta, Georgia, and started the writing process all over again. So those riffs and the lyrical content are kind of reflecting what had happened since the last time we wrote a record. I dont really know how to say what this new record is, except that it is a very honest and authentic representation of what has happened to us over the past two years. It was created right from the heart and soul, through the fingers, through the guitars and onto tape.

    Mastodon get categorized under so many subgenres of metal. Do these create any preconceptions about direction whenever the band starts working on a new album?

    No, not at all. To a large degree, we dont consider ourselves a metal band. We recognize there is a lot of metal in us, but we also want to believe we have a lot of rock n roll in us, and we have a lot of progressive rock in us, we have bits and pieces of thrash and punk, and psychedelic-ness sprinkled throughout. A lot of times for me personally, just having the metal tag itself seems kind of limiting on us because we have such an appreciation for all styles of music and we like to incorporate bits and pieces of those in to our songs. But we also recognize all the different sub-genres and the millions of times people say, Oh, what do they sound like? and you say something, I understand that. But, it doesnt affect how we create anything at all.

    One of the things Im most proud of my dudes for is that we never really speak when it comes to anything being preconceived. We dont go in to a session saying, Hey, we should really strip down and write some short, sweet songs for this album. Something that might get some radio airplay or, we never speak of things like, Hey guys, we really need to write some really long, epic songs like Crack the Skye or things like that. We dont speak of that either. We just let what we are feeling and whoever has an idea, let it go through their bodies and souls and let it come out their instruments, and if the rest of the band in the practice space can latch on to a certain idea or a certain riff, then we just build on that idea. We just build on it until it grows in to a song all its own. So we dont really care about any type of sub-genre or how we should sound or if a certain song is starting to not sound like Mastodon, none of that comes in to play in our heads ever, because we are the four dudes creating it, and if it is something that we like we are going to go for it.

    Listening from a perspective of a fan yourself, what do you think people will like mostly when they hear Once More Round the Sun?

    Im hoping that they will give it a listen and walk away with the same feeling Ive always felt, if you give our band a chance. I hope something will touch you. Im hoping you will immerse yourselves in the music while reading the lyrics. Ingesting this as one full piece, I think youll find something positive about it. Whether you like it a little bit or if youre a big fan of our band, or anywhere inbetween. Give it a proper listen and let it hopefully touch you and inspire you in some sort of way. Let it take you on a mental journey and feel free to close your eyes and come with us.

    I read that the band recorded another half hour of music that wont be part of the finished album. How did it serve the making of the album to record so much extra music and what will happen to those unused tracks?

    This is the first time weve had more material than we knew that would make the record going into the studio, but thats a good problem. We had all these songs we had been working on that we all liked and loved. We went into the Rock Falcon Studios in Franklin, Tennessee, and we recorded about 15 songs. Listening back, we found a proper ebb and flow that we felt would make a solid album. Its right around the one hour mark, which we think is a healthy dose of music.

    With the songs that were left over, we do not view them as B sides. We do not view them as throw away songs, were in love with those songs just as any songs that made the record. So they will see the light of day, properly. Hopefully sooner than later. I dont know whats going to happen, will we do a winter EP release? Possibly. Halloween? Maybe. Record another half hour of much while were on tour this summer? And have another full length album to record and release next year? I hope so. So something good will happen to all of this material, just dont know what yet.


    Check out the rest of the interview at Loudwire


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Mastodon’s Troy Sanders recently talked toFull Metal Jackie about the band’s new albumOnce More Round The Sun.

Check it out below!

So, Mastodon have a new album called Once More Round the Sun. Its coming out June 24. Troy, The Hunter charted Top 10 on Billboard and got high year-end praise from some pretty major media outlets. What aspects of that album and the way it was received became a starting point for Once More Round the Sun?

Well, thats a very good question. I see them as two different pieces separated by a two-year gap, by traveling and touring on it so much. Ive been asked, Does this new record take off where The Hunter left us? I think to a degree, yes, because we basically wrote The Hunter, recorded it, and toured on it for about two years. Then about a year ago from today, around March of 2013, we reconvened in our practice space in Atlanta, Georgia, and started the writing process all over again. So those riffs and the lyrical content are kind of reflecting what had happened since the last time we wrote a record. I dont really know how to say what this new record is, except that it is a very honest and authentic representation of what has happened to us over the past two years. It was created right from the heart and soul, through the fingers, through the guitars and onto tape.

Mastodon get categorized under so many subgenres of metal. Do these create any preconceptions about direction whenever the band starts working on a new album?

No, not at all. To a large degree, we dont consider ourselves a metal band. We recognize there is a lot of metal in us, but we also want to believe we have a lot of rock n roll in us, and we have a lot of progressive rock in us, we have bits and pieces of thrash and punk, and psychedelic-ness sprinkled throughout. A lot of times for me personally, just having the metal tag itself seems kind of limiting on us because we have such an appreciation for all styles of music and we like to incorporate bits and pieces of those in to our songs. But we also recognize all the different sub-genres and the millions of times people say, Oh, what do they sound like? and you say something, I understand that. But, it doesnt affect how we create anything at all.

One of the things Im most proud of my dudes for is that we never really speak when it comes to anything being preconceived. We dont go in to a session saying, Hey, we should really strip down and write some short, sweet songs for this album. Something that might get some radio airplay or, we never speak of things like, Hey guys, we really need to write some really long, epic songs like Crack the Skye or things like that. We dont speak of that either. We just let what we are feeling and whoever has an idea, let it go through their bodies and souls and let it come out their instruments, and if the rest of the band in the practice space can latch on to a certain idea or a certain riff, then we just build on that idea. We just build on it until it grows in to a song all its own. So we dont really care about any type of sub-genre or how we should sound or if a certain song is starting to not sound like Mastodon, none of that comes in to play in our heads ever, because we are the four dudes creating it, and if it is something that we like we are going to go for it.

Listening from a perspective of a fan yourself, what do you think people will like mostly when they hear Once More Round the Sun?

Im hoping that they will give it a listen and walk away with the same feeling Ive always felt, if you give our band a chance. I hope something will touch you. Im hoping you will immerse yourselves in the music while reading the lyrics. Ingesting this as one full piece, I think youll find something positive about it. Whether you like it a little bit or if youre a big fan of our band, or anywhere inbetween. Give it a proper listen and let it hopefully touch you and inspire you in some sort of way. Let it take you on a mental journey and feel free to close your eyes and come with us.

I read that the band recorded another half hour of music that wont be part of the finished album. How did it serve the making of the album to record so much extra music and what will happen to those unused tracks?

This is the first time weve had more material than we knew that would make the record going into the studio, but thats a good problem. We had all these songs we had been working on that we all liked and loved. We went into the Rock Falcon Studios in Franklin, Tennessee, and we recorded about 15 songs. Listening back, we found a proper ebb and flow that we felt would make a solid album. Its right around the one hour mark, which we think is a healthy dose of music.

With the songs that were left over, we do not view them as B sides. We do not view them as throw away songs, were in love with those songs just as any songs that made the record. So they will see the light of day, properly. Hopefully sooner than later. I dont know whats going to happen, will we do a winter EP release? Possibly. Halloween? Maybe. Record another half hour of much while were on tour this summer? And have another full length album to record and release next year? I hope so. So something good will happen to all of this material, just dont know what yet.


Check out the rest of the interview at Loudwire


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