Brann Dailor Explains Why Mastodon Called New Album ‘Marrow Deep’

Last Friday (Aug. 28), Mastodon released their ninth studio album (Marrow Deep), which is their first without late guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds and their first with guitarist Nick Johnston and keyboardist João Nogueira. Among the many questions surrounding the record is why the group decided to call it Marrow Deep, and during a new chat with iHeartRadio Canada, drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor explained precisely that.

Brann Dailor Explains Marrow Deep’s Title

Dailor discussed multiple things regarding Marrow Deep with iHeart Rocks Canada’s JD Lewis (uploaded to YouTube on Aug. 28). For his last question, Lewis asked Dailor about the “meaning” behind the title.

“The marrow deep [is] as deep as you can get into a relationship,” Dailor began, continuing:

So, first and foremost, my mother [Michele Lawrance, who died in 2015], but then a brother of 25 years [Hinds]. When you kind of go deep into writing deeply emotional music with other people and you sort of bare your soul with them and have that primitive [and] ritualistic – you kind of, like, tap into the children that still kind of live inside you, you know? That, I feel, [is] as deep as you can get into a relationship.

Dailor further contemplated:

A lot of people are friends with – and they have friends. They have really close friends, and you’re super-close friends, but there’s something about creating art with another person that – for me – elevates a friendship past the normal hanging-out-and-helping-me-move friendship levels. We [Dailor and Hinds] got there, and for me, life is about the relationships that you’ve have and the relationships that you make.

I was very lucky to experience some very, very deep personal relationships that gave me so much joy and satisfaction in my life. I was also very lucky to have a profound relationship with my mom. I know that not everyone has that (which is sad), but I was able to, so I’m very fortunate. Both [of] those relationships are the deepest – marrow deep – and so that was what I felt should be the name of the record.

You can see Dailor’s entire conversation with iHeart Rocks Canada below:

Brann Dailor Discusses Mastodon’s Marrow Deep + More (Aug. 28, 2026)

READ MORE: Mastodon Reflect Upon Releasing First Album Since Brent Hinds’ Death

More About Hinds’ Legacy + Marrow Deep

Obviously, Hinds’ death (and departure from Mastodon in early 2025) loom large over Marrow Deep.

In fact, the group reflected on releasing their first album without him via a social media statement posted on Aug. 28 (almost one year to the day after Hinds’ fatal motorcycle accident).

“It was a turbulent ride getting here and while we’re no strangers to exploring heavy subject matter, this one hit different,” Mastodon admitted near the start of their statement. “All we had known as a band had dramatically changed forever, and we all found ourselves navigating personal tragedies and catastrophic events.”

They added:

This album was forged in a whole lot of chaos and raw, unfiltered emotion, but through the uncertainty, we managed to come together, unpack the weight of it all and create something beautiful that pushed us to our absolute limits, collectively and individually, as creatives, musicians and human beings. For us, Marrow Deep is more than just a snapshot of time, it’s a testament to perseverance and the importance of getting out of bed and showing up, even when you feel like the world is crumbling around you.

The three of us have poured everything we have into Mastodon for the past 26+ years, it’s an insatiable fire that burns within us still to this very day. Having Nick and Joao beside us during this new chapter has been incredibly uplifting and genuinely awesome! They bring a new energy and dynamic into the mix and we are firing on all cylinders!

Whether this album helps you navigate dark times, inspires you to pick up an instrument, or you simply listen for enjoyment, we hope the music connects with you as deeply as it does with us!

We say this often but still feel like we can never say it enough, thank you! To the fans old and new, your support means everything!

See ya on the road!

– Mastodon

You can see their full statement below:

As for how Hinds would feel about Marrow Deep, Dailor told Metal Injection earlier this month:

[He] probably wouldn’t like it very much. No, he might. I mean, I don’t know. Maybe there’s aspects of it that he would dig. But, you know, he wasn’t the biggest fan of heavy stuff toward the end. He was kind of always trying to steer us away from having that. But then he was like, “We should make a black metal song” and I’m like, “I just don’t know if you’re being serious or coming and going. One day, it’s this [and] one day, it’s that.”

Dailor elaborated:

I would have to think that there’d be a majority of the record that Brent would dig it, you know, and want to be – like if he was still here and still wanted to be in Mastodon and wanted to come rock with us, that he’d put his stamp on some of these tracks. Put his shine on some of it [like] the way he always did.

Critical Reception of Marrow Deep So Far

So far, the critical reception to Marrow Deep has been exceedingly positive.

For example, Rolling Stone called it “one of their most emotional albums” and concluded: “Marrow Deep at times feels turbulent, ornate, measured, chaotic, and cathartic. Most of all, it sounds mature.”

Elsewhere, Kerrang! deemed it a “bruising masterpiece”; Sonic Perspectives described it as “an endearingly familiar yet sufficiently fresh record that honors Mastodon’s past while kicking off their next chapter”; Consequence championed Mastodon’s ability to “deliver a metal masterpiece in the wake of unfathomable loss”; and Classic Rock Magazine said it’s a “stellar” and “defiant” work that “takes all the bad experiences the band have endured in recent times and turns it into something positive.”

How are you liking Marrow Deep so far? Let us know. Also, be sure to check out our feature on 31 rock and metal albums turning 20 in 2026 (including Mastodon’s Blood Mountain) below!