MASTODON recruits Canadian guitarist NICK JOHNSTON for spring 2025 tour
12-05-2025
Atlanta progressive metallers MASTODON have recruited Canadian musician Nick Johnston as their fill-in guitarist for their spring 2025 North American tour, which launched Thursday night (May 8) at The Factory in Chesterfield, Missouri. Johnston has stepped in following the departure of longtime MASTODON guitarist Brent Hinds earlier this year.
When MASTODON performed at the Tool In The Sand festival in March, the band hired YouTuber and session musician Ben Eller to play second guitar.
Hailing from Toronto, Nick is known for his catchy, melody-driven instrumental music. With his guitar, Nick has been able to carve out his own unique style within a crowded landscape of instrumental guitarists. Nick is a firm believer that “you are what you eat” and that by listening to many different styles, a songwriter can be exposed to different harmonies, rhythms, time signatures and tones. This eclectic inspiration is evident in his sound, which ranges from blues to prog, to jazz, to gypsy, spanning anything and everything in-between. Though his style is ever evolving, his music is consistently detailed and technical while managing to be instantly recognizable as Nick Johnston.
Last year, Johnston released his seventh album, “Child Of Bliss”.
Since 2000, Hinds had served as lead guitarist and vocalist for MASTODON, alongside bassist/singer Troy Sanders, drummer Brann Dailor, and guitarist Bill Kelliher.
MASTODON announced Brent‘s departure from the band on Friday (March 7), writing in a statement: “Friends and Fans, After 25 monumental years together, MASTODON and Brent Hinds have mutually decided to part ways.
MASTODON and LAMB OF GOD‘s collaborative single called “Floods Of Triton” was released in September 2024. The track, which was recorded prior to the launch of the two bands’ “Ashes Of Leviathan” summer 2024 tour, was made available via Loma Vista Recordings.
Stream “FLOODS OF TRITON” AT THIS LOCATION.
This momentous collaboration also serves as a bookend for the bands’ highly successful summer tour, a celebration of two landmark albums that charted a path that countless heavy bands have followed in the intervening years. Mastodon’s Leviathan and Lamb of God’s Ashes of the Wake not only marked critical turning points in each band’s career but also left an indelible influence on the evolution of the genre. While “Floods Of Triton” echoes the innovation and raw energy of these albums, it also speaks to their persistent hunger for creativity and evolution and marks the first step in Mastodon’s next chapter.
“Floods of Triton” is out now on Loma Vista Recordings.
“Floods Of Triton” was recorded at MASTODON‘s own West End Sound in Atlanta and was produced by MASTODON and Tyler Bates, highly regarded in his own right for his scores for “Guardians Of The Galaxy”, “John Wick”, “MaXXXine” and more.
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