The shadow of cruel mortality has fallen across two of the year’s biggest metal releases, both unavoidably steeped in grief for much-loved creative talents taken far too soon. After processing Tomas Lindberg’s final At The Gates record, The Ghost Of A Future Dead, we’re confronted with the first Mastodon album without the unique voice and guitar wizardry of Brent Hinds, who quit the band last March and died five months later.
Mastodon’s previous LP, 2021’s double platter Hushed And Grim, was itself born of sorrow following the death of their long-time manager, Nick John. It was ambitious, audacious and liberally sprinkled with Mastodon’s patent genius, but attention couldn’t help flagging on a few mid-tier tunes. Nothing about Marrow Deep is mid-tier; every song pulls its considerable weight, maintaining an artisanal consistency across its comparatively concise 63 minutes.
