MASTODON vocalist/bassist Troy Sanders is featured in a new interview with Mxdwn.com. An excerpt is available below:

Q: What’s the writing process for Mastodon? Is it primarily one member writing, or a more collaborative effort?

Sanders: "A year ago, when we were on the Blackdiamondskye tour, which was Mastodon, Deftones, and Alice In Chains, we were surrounded by a lot of very genuine people. Both of those bands have overcome very tragic experiences, Deftones with their bassist, and Alice In Chains with their lead singer, but they were still up there every night, killing it! It was a very inspirational tour to be a part of, and having so much down time as the opener on that tour, we would have practice amps set up in our dressing rooms. The skeleton of what would become The Hunter was actually created while on that tour. When we got home, after the holidays, we started sifting through all these ideas, and realized that we had the bulk of a record! It was just a matter of taking those pieces and starting to put that puzzle together. That was a very inspirational part of The Hunter as well, being a part of that tour."

Q: So it’s not all business at hand until you get back home?

Sanders: "Yeah, but only if it comes naturally. We’re not going to sit down and say, 'Guys, we need to start writing something right now!' We let it come to us. You know, (guitarists) Bill (Kelliher) and Brent (Hinds) will sit down, every day, for either one minute or an hour, and just start playing the guitar, because that’s what they live to do, have a guitar in their hands. So we just let it come to us naturally, we feel that’s the best way to create, when something inspires you authentically, without being forced."

Q: Scott Kelly makes an appearance on this album, as he did on Leviathan, Blood Mountain, and Crack The Skye. How did you guys get together with Scott initially?

Sanders: "Well, we’ve all been hugely inspired by (Scott’s band) NEUROSIS, even before Mastodon formed. But we befriended Scott along the way, when Mastodon supported Neurosis back in ’02 at The Trocadero in Philadelphia, and from there, we formed a great relationship with all the members of Neurosis, personally and musically. Now, every time we write a riff that sounds like a Neurosis-ish part, we always call Scott, send him the files, and he’s always like 'I’ll drop anything to start knocking that out.' It wasn’t pre-planned over the last four records, there’s just been a riff that we could hear Scott’s voice over, and every time, he’s more than happy to collaborate with us."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Already confirmed to perform five shows as part of Soundwave 2012 - Australia's travelling festival that runs February 25th to March 5th - MASTODON has announced a pair of Sidewave headlining concerts down under.

Scheduled for February 27th in Melbourne at Billboard, and March 1st in Sydney at The Hi Fi, support on both shows will come from GOJIRA and KVELERTAK. Tickets go on sale December 15th.

Soundwave will play the following dates:

February

25 - Brisbane, Australia - Rna Showgrounds
26 - Sydney, Australia - Showground

March

2 - Melbourne, Australia - Showgrounds
3 - Adelaide, Australia - Bonython Park
5 - Perth, Australia - Claremont Showgrounds

For more info visit the festival’s website.