MASTODON Working On New Material, Hints At A “New Configuration” Of Crack The Skye Coming

Mastodon‘s Crack The Skye record turned 15 over the weekend and the band celebrated with two new bits of information.

First and foremost is the tease of new material, which they note they’re “cooking up” in the background. Then right at the end of their post, Mastodon notes that they might have “a new configuration” of Crack The Skye on the horizon. What that means is a mystery, but hey – anything related to Crack The Skye, we’ll take it. That album rips.

“Fifteen years ago today, we unveiled Crack The Skye,” wrote Mastodon. “A time where we experimented with sounds and styles previously unexplored on a Mastodon album. We’re deeply thankful for our fans, who have embraced our continuous drive to venture into new realms and challenge ourselves with every album.

“Maybe we are cooking up some new stuff up in the background?… but that’s our little secret… In the meantime, revisit the album and share your favorite songs, riffs, melodies and moments with us, we love hearing from you! Who knows, maybe there’s a new configuration of the CTS album on the horizon…

“Also, we’re celebrating another big anniversary, 20 years of Leviathan! We are playing that record in its entirety on the Ashes of Leviathan Tour with our buddies Lamb of God who are also celebrating a special anniversary! It’s gonna be an amazing tour! Tickets are on sale now, see you in July/August!”

Outside its sci-fi concept, Crack The Skye pays homage to drummer Brann Dailor‘s sister Skye Dailor, who committed suicide at 14 years old. On the album’s layout, Dailor added: “Celebrating 15 years of Crack The Skye today. Just wanted to show you a cool way that [Paul Romano] was able to incorporate my sister Skye‘s face into the tunnel book edition artwork. Paul is always looking for clever ways to tie the art to the music. There’s Easter eggs nestled inside all the packaging that Paul has ever been involved in, probably some that I don’t even know about.”

Lamb Of God and Mastodon will hit the road this July and August to play their 2004 albums Ashes Of The Wake and Leviathan in full. All dates will be opened by Kerry King and Malevolence, except for a few in the middle featuring Kerry King and Unearth. Get the full list of dates below and get your tickets here.

7/19 – Grand Prairie, TX – Texas Trust CU Theatre
7/20 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
7/21 – Houston, TX – 713 Music Hall
7/23 – Jacksonville, FL – Daily’s Place
7/24 – Orlando, FL – Orlando Amphitheater
7/25 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
7/27 – Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater
7/28 – Richmond, VA – Virginia Credit Union LIVE!
7/30 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
7/31 – London, ON – Budweiser Gardens
8/1 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
8/3 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
8/4 – Manchester, NH – SNHU Arena
8/6 – Bangor, ME – Maine Savings Amphitheatre
8/8 – Reading, PA – Santander Arena (w/ Kerry King & Unearth)
8/9 – Cleveland, OH – Jacobs Pavilion (w/ Kerry King & Unearth)
8/10 – Sterling Heights, MI – Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre @ Freedom Hill (w/ Kerry King & Unearth)
8/13 – Moorhead, MN – Bluestem Center For The Arts Amphitheater
8/15 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome
8/16 – Penticton, BC – South Okanagan Events Centre
8/17 – Kent, WA – accesso ShoWare Center
8/18 – Portland, OR – Theater of the Clouds
8/21 – Los Angeles, CA – The Kia Forum
8/23 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre
8/24 – Rio Rancho, NM – Rio Rancho Events Center
8/25 – El Paso, TX – El Paso County Coliseum
8/27 – Magna, UT – The Great Saltair
8/29 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
8/31 – Omaha, NE – The Astro Amphitheater