Mastodon have been celebrating the 10th anniversary of their fourth album, 2009’s Crack the Skye, all year with new merch, a vinyl picture disc of the record and a co-headlining tour with Coheed and Cambria on which they’re playing the full track list.
Additionally, they’ve been releasing weekly episodes chronicling the making of the record. Above, check out the fourth episode, which focuses on guitar playing and gear.
Regarding how he approached his leads on the record, Brent Hinds says, “Here’s how I’ll write guitar solos: I don’t. I just put my brain on autopilot and pick up the guitar and say ‘Play this song.’ ”
Remarks Bill Kelliher, “I always try to harmonize…not everything, but anything that’s single notes or whatever, I feel like, ‘I’m gonna harmonize the crap out of that.’ ”
They also delve deep into the “immense” arsenal of guitars and amps they had to work with on the record, which included Leslie speakers, vintage Strats and Teles, a purple Marshall JMP and a JCM 800 reissue that was, according to Kelliher, “100 watts of pure fuckin’ metal.”
Says Hinds, “The gear is definitely why I get out of bed in the morning.”
“The main acoustic is a $100 Fender – the strings were super-old and dusty. We hate new strings!” Meet Great Grandpa, the unpredictable indie rockers making epic anthems with cheap acoustics – and recording guitars like a Queens of the Stone Age drummer
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