Mastodon Say Their Long Awaited Ninth Album Is Finally Coming In 2026

Mastodon’s next chapter is finally clawing its way out of the swamp.

After years of uncertainty, lineup fractures, and devastating personal loss, drummer and vocalist Brann Dailor has confirmed Mastodon will release their ninth studio album later this year, for a band that’s always carried grief and tension inside towering riffs and psychedelic sludge, this record already sounds like it’s going to hit differently.

Speaking with Blabbermouth, Dailor revealed the album has officially been completed after what he described as one of the most emotionally brutal periods the band has ever faced.

‘We’re very excited about it,’ Dailor said. ‘It was a hard record to make. It was a very emotional time for us. I lost my mom, we went through all this turmoil with Brent, and then he passed away. It’s been tough.’

First album without Brent Hinds

The upcoming album will be Mastodon’s first without founding guitarist and vocalist Brent Hinds, who exited the band in last year before later dying in a motorcycle accident in Atlanta last August, the loss sent shockwaves through the metal community, especially given how deeply Hinds’ unpredictable guitar work helped shape the band’s identity across records like Leviathan, Crack The Skye, and Blood Mountain.

Dailor admitted the material has been sitting in the band’s orbit for some time while life unravelled around them:

‘It’s all in the music, it’s all in the songs, and I’m excited to release it and get it out there into the world because we’ve been sitting on it for a while,’ he explained. ‘A lot of this stuff, at least the skeletons of what this album is, we’ve been sitting on for two years now.’

The drummer also confirmed the record contains no writing contributions from Hinds, saying the guitarist had emotionally drifted away from the band before his departure.

‘Toward the end, unfortunately, it was hard to get him to come down to the space,’ Dailor said. ‘He was wherever the wind took him.’

In many ways, that line feels painfully fitting now.

Mastodon have yet to announce an official title or release date, but Dailor confirmed on social media over the weekend that more details are coming soon, considering the weight this band has been carrying, don’t expect a light listen when it finally lands.

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