Internationally celebrated heavy rock icons Mastodon will release a new EP featuring four previously unreleased tracks on September 22. COLD DARK PLACE will be released digitally and on CD, followed by a limited-edition 10” vinyl picture disc on October 27.
Three of the tracks, ‘North Side Star,’ ‘Blue Walsh,’ and ‘Cold Dark Place,’ were recorded during the sessions for Mastodon’s 2014 album ONCE MORE ‘ROUND THE SUN and were produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Deftones, Rise Against). A fourth track, ‘Toe to Toes,’ was recorded during the sessions for the band’s most recent album, 2016’s EMPEROR OF SAND, and was produced by Brendan O’Brien (Pearl Jam, Soundgarden).
Mastodon also recently featured on the season finale of HBO’s Game of Thrones. Band members Brann Dailor, Bill Kelliher, and Brent Hinds portrayed White Walkers in the final episode of the season, ‘The Dragon and the Wolf’. This marks the second time Mastodon has been invited to participate as extras in Game of Thrones by the show’s creator and executive producer, Dan Weiss. The band members previously made their screen debut as wildlings in the season 5 episode ‘Hardhome’.
Mastodon’s eighth studio album EMPEROR OF SAND entered Billboard’s Top Album Sales Chart at #1, marking the band’s biggest sales debut in their history. EMPEROR OF SAND marked the band’s third consecutive album to enter into the Billboard Top Ten. EMPEROR OF SAND also gave the band the biggest international debut of their career with first week chart position highs in multiple countries, reaching the Top 10 in Canada (#2), Australia (#3), Finland (#4), Sweden (#5), Norway (#6), Ireland (#7), and New Zealand (#9).