Mastodon Release New Song “Your Ghost Again,” Announce 2026 Tour with Deafheaven and Alcest
Atlanta progressive metallers MASTODON have released a new song, "Your Ghost Again". The track, which was produced by Patrik Berger (Taylor Swift, Robyn) and CONVERGE guitarist Kurt Ballou, is the first single from the band's upcoming ninth studio album, due later in the year.
"Your Ghost Again" is the first piece of new MASTODON music to be released since the death of co-founding guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds, who departed MASTODON in March 2025. Hinds passed away in a motorcycle accident five months later. He was replaced by touring guitarist Nick Johnston, who reportedly will appear on the new studio LP.
In a video accompanying the announcement of the new single, the MASTODON members said the song was a tribute to their former bandmate.
"'Your Ghost Again' is about when you lose somebody that's close to you that you existed with for most of your life," MASTODON drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor said. "When we were in the studio recording, I kept seeing Brent. I'd see him on my right holding the guitar because that's where he'd usually be. It's the same with my mom: I keep seeing her. I was just singing about what I was seeing, and I was seeing ghosts.
Dailor went on to say that "Your Ghost Again" is "about being in those familiar places you used to be with people, which for us is in the studio. I just kept seeing [Brent] out of the corner of my eye, where he would normally be with his guitar. It's about that: your mind plays tricks on you, especially so soon after someone dies and you're in the places where they always were. You just see them."
"My portion of the song, lyrically, is all about Brent, and for Brent," added MASTODON bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders. "The bridge lyrics are two lines of pure gratitude towards Brent. It's all the gifts from you, now you can take them back where you must go, meaning you came into my life, you exposed me to things that blew my mind, together we conquered thousands of stages around the world, had magical moments that we can never repeat again, but all the beauty that you brought it still remains, always will, and it's just a line of gratitude because that's important that we include Brent."
MASTODON guitarist/vocalist Bill Kellihercommented: "We wanted to pick a song that sounds like MASTODON, and that has all the things in there, because it's the first impression of what people are gonna hear. It speaks about things that have just happened and people passing, I could go deep but I don't want to because a lot of that shit's personal."
Mastodon 2026 "The Poisonous Weapons Tour" dates:
September 16 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock
September 18 - Asheville, NC - Asheville Yards
September 19 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
September 20 - Louisville, KY - Louder than Life
September 22 - Philadelphia, PA - Franklin Music Hall
September 23 - Boston, MA - House of Blues
September 24 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Paramount
September 25 - Washington, DC - Anthem
September 27 - Montreal, QC - MTelus
September 28 - Toronto, ON - Rebel
September 29 - Buffalo, NY - Buffalo Riverworks
October 1 - Detroit, MI - Fillmore
October 2 - Chicago, IL - The Riviera
October 3 - Minneapolis, MN - Palace
October 6 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
October 7 - Boise, ID - Revolution
October 9 - Oakland, CA - The Fox
October 10 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Palladium
October 11 - San Diego, CA - The Sound
October 14 - Denver, CO - Fillmore
October 16 - Des Moines, IA - Val Air Ballroom
October 17 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
October 18 - Memphis, TN - Satellite Music Hall
October 20 - Cleveland, OH - Agora
October 21 - Greensboro, NC - Piedmont Hall
October 22 - Atlanta, GA - The Eastern
October 24 - Dallas, TX - Sick New World Dallas
