“Bedazzled Fingernails” has
some pretty mind-boggling
stuff going on with the timing
and the riffs. How did that
song develop?
Hinds: You’re, like, the third
person that’s interviewed me
that has asked about that song—
that’s a great sign. That has been
a riff I’ve been playing around
with for a long time, but it
never really worked in anything
else until
The Hunter sessions.
Those syncopated riffs sound
pretty difficult to play.
Hinds: That’s the whole
point—it sounds difficult, but
that doesn’t mean it is difficult.
Guitar playing is like being a
magician—you try to do more
with less and work smarter, not
harder. I’ve played with hybrid-style
picking—using a pick
along with my middle, ring,
and pinky fingers—forever,
because I learned on the banjo
first. But on this song I don’t
really use a pick that much, I’m
just using my open fingers with
hammer-ons and pull-offs to
get that confusing, high-speed
riff illusion.
The main riff in “The
Octopus Has No Friends”
sounds pretty brutal, too.
Hinds: That’s just how I play
guitar. That type of hybrid
picking will always be a big
part of my playing—whether
it’s in Mastodon or my side
bands. For “Octopus,” I just
wanted to make things sound
as crazy—like raindrops—and
chorus-y as possible, so I really
worked it up to speed on my
9-string First Act, because it
creates those natural chorus
sounds that even the best pedal
can’t make.
Did you use your 9- and
12-string First Act guitars on
other songs?
Hinds: They’re probably featured
on nine of the 14 songs.
I love playing big, open chords
on them, and then also layering
jangly parts when picking the
strings really fast. The octave
strings create this ringing, atonal
chorus effect unmatched by any
chorus pedal. A 6-string and a
pedal sounds stale in comparison.
Kelliher: I didn’t really use those
at all on this album. They offered
those ringing dynamics and overtones
we were looking for on Crack
the Skye, but that wasn’t something
I strived for on
The Hunter.
What was your go-to guitar for
these sessions?
Hinds: My Mastodon guitar
would have to be the Electrical
Guitar Company acrylic V
that Kevin Burkett built me a
few years ago. I’ve always loved
Gibson Flying Vs, and my friends
King Buzzo [the Melvins] and
Laura Pleasants [Kylesa] had
theses killer aluminum-body-and-neck
guitars from Electrical Guitar
Company. So I talked to Kevin
and had him make one of his V
models for me. It’s a little heavy
still—that’s something we’ll continue
to work on—but it sounds
great and is unique, as far as looks
and tone—especially its sustain.
Left to right: Hinds, Kelliher, and bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders onstage in
the Netherlands. Photo by Cindy Frey
Sustain is a big deal to you,
isn’t it?
Hinds: Sustain is one of the
most important things to me
when it comes to tone and my
setup. I like it so much, if I
had a kid, I’d name it Sustain
[
laughs]. But honestly, I love
sustain because it’s ghostly. It has
weird textures, majestic energy,
and spooky overtones that add
so much depth and soul to your
playing—it’s an organic interaction
between you, the guitar, and
the amp. I live for those overdriven
vibrations and emotions.