Bill Kelliher says Turnstile are influencing new Mastodon material

Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher says the new material he’s working on is being inspired by hardcore heroes Turnstile.

Mastodon’s eighth album Hushed and Grim was released in 2021 and they described it as their “proggiest” yet.

Now Kelliher is working on material for its follow-up, and his love of Turnstile’s sound may move his own band in a new direction.

Kelliher tells Guitar.com: “I want to write music that’s really fucking heavy and to the point. I want it to sound like Mastodon but steer away from the long, drawn-out songs.

“I feel like we’ve been on that kind of kick for a while, and I want to move on to something a little more tangible.

“The stuff I’m working on is the sort of stuff that comes out swinging, you know? I’ve been listening to a lot of Turnstile, and their last record, Glow On, to me, is fucking great.

“I just love their guitars, and their production of it sounds great. Their songwriting is really good. It reminds me of Bad Brains, but if they were more modern, with some Jane’s Addiction mixed in.”

Asked if Glow On has reinvigorated his writing, Kelliher adds: “In a way, yes. That Turnstile record kind of (sparked) my interest in writing in that way.

“It’s like, ‘Well, you guys are bringing back all the cool things about the bands that I used to listen to and really look up to. I wanna do more of that.’ I’m a product of the 80s and early 90s when all that kind of stuff was really popular.”

Turnstile won plaudits for their performance at last year’s Glastonbury festival. 

Source: loudersound.com