One year after the death of former guitarist Brent Hinds, Mastodon is set to release a new album: Marrow Deep. It’s the band’s first record without their late bandmate. But they did get some help from one of the heavy metal godfathers, Geezer Butler.
In an August 2026 interview, Mastodon bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders opened up about tapping Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler for a song on Marrow Deep. While speaking to Iain McCallum of Australia’s I Was Gonna Ask About That, Sanders was asked whether he felt “like a 13-year-old child again” while working with Butler on the bass intro for the song “The Vanishing”.
“We all did, and we all still do,” Sanders replied. “I was recently asked, speaking of just solely on the bass guitar, someone says, ‘What’s the highlight of this album for you on bass?’ And I said, ‘Well, the highlight wasn’t me.’ It’s really cool to say that.”
“What a cool moment,” Troy went on to say. “We were lucky to tour with Black Sabbath in 2005, on the Ozzfest in the States. Geezer name-dropped us in his book that he wrote two years ago. That blew our minds. And then to be invited to [the] ‘Back To The Beginning’ [event in Birmingham] last year was an absolute dream come true.”
‘Marrow Deep’ is Mastodon’s ninth studio album
Sanders then shared how the band gauged Butler’s interest in contributing to their new project. “So through management, we reached out to Geezer to see if he wanted to collaborate in any capacity,” he said. “And he came back and said yes. So for all of us it’s just, like, go back in time and say, ‘The guy from Black Sabbath that writes all the lyrics, he’s gonna be on your album.’ So not just my head would’ve exploded, but all five of us.”
This isn’t the first time that Sabers has spoken about getting Butler for Mastodon’s new album. In July 2026, he shared a little about it with Bass Player magazine. “We wanted him to hear where the record was going and see if anything inspired him,” Sanders said. “And he sent back this incredible bass solo that became the introduction to a song called ‘The Vanishing’. It’s a very Sabbath-inspired track. It’s definitely the bass highlight of the album. And I’m completely happy saying that.”
Marrow Deep arrives on August 28 via Loma Vista Recordings. In addition to Butler, it features collaborations with Converge’s Nate Newton and Ben Koller, Clutch’s Neil Fallon, Gojira’s Joe Duplantier, and Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe.
Photo by Joseph Okpako/WireImage
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