There is, so often, a weight of sadness beneath the surface of Mastodon. As often as the Atlanta quartet have used their songs to tell tales of Moby Dick, dinosaurs, weird occurrences and freaky visions, they've also carried with them something much more real. Crack The Skye dealt with the death of drummer Brann Dailor's sister, while The Hunter was a tribute to guitarist Brent Hinds' brother. Their last album, Emperor Of Sand, was informed by bassist Troy Sanders' wife's battle with cancer, from which she has since mercifully recovered, but which nonetheless made its presence felt.
“When loved ones close to us pass, we feel obligated to pay this tribute to them musically for some reason,” Brent told Kerrang! recently. “We’ve got all of these records under our belt, and so many of them are paying homage to fallen friends.”
In this case, the grief going into Hushed And Grim is that for Mastodon’s late manager, Nick John, who passed away in 2018. Knowing this, and hearing Brann explain some of the concept behind the lyrics – a tree into which human souls go when a person dies – the already heavy weight above these songs takes on a sharper focus. But there is also so much more: there is joy, there is confusion, there is loss, and simply thoughtfulness. There is the sadness of grief, but there is grateful reflection as well.