Mastodon have just shared In The Ruins, a song from their highly anticipated new album Marrow Deep (out August 28 via Loma Vista Recordings) and inspired by the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene and the personal havoc it wreaked upon bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders and his family.
The catastrophic storm severely flooded their home and destroyed personal belongings, leading to a nearly two year period of displacement that coincided with the whole band navigating the profound grief of the passings of founding member Brent Hinds and drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor’s mother Michele Lawrence, ultimately channeling the loss into a powerful declaration of resilience and catharsis. The song comes paired with a vibrant video by animation and VFX studio Hey Beautiful Jerk that depicts a fever dream journey by a single-eyed creature named Frank across flooded and ruined landscapes that serves as a metaphor for the song’s lyrics.
Speaking on the video, Hey Beautiful Jerk states: “The initial inspiration for Frank and the concept for In The Ruins came to me when I was in the ER for 10 hours with the worst eye infection of my life. The pain was so bad it felt like my eye was revolting and wanted to escape my head. I had just talked to Brann about the meaning of the song and how it was inspired by his and Troy’s recent losses. The expression ‘picking up the pieces’ came to me and I sketched a very rough version of Frank on my phone, capturing the idea as fast as I could before my eye wanted to escape my face once again.”
