https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6zU87xJoBk
Back in April, Anthony talked some about “High Road,” the lead single of seminal sludge and prog-metal outfit Mastodon’s forthcoming record Once More ‘Round the Sun. The song had a sweet soaring chorus, managing to maintain the likable catchy quality of the band’s previous effort The Hunter, but thankfully the band had also amped the heaviness back up. As a single, it worked; as a song, it was decent and left us largely optimistic about the new project.

“Chimes at Midnight,” the second glimpse we’ve been given of the album, has us even more positive. It’s still somewhat straightforward, albeit to a lesser extent than “High Road” or anything on The Hunter; but it’s also considerably darker and more progressive, particularly illustrated by the tromping,  synth-laced intro and coda. The art direction for this album appears to be spot-on: fantastical environments both lush and stygian. Let’s hope the whole LP can handle that balance.

Once More ‘Round the Sun is due our June 24 via Reprise.