Mastodon drummer Brann Dailor once racked up an $800 phone bill simply by trading lines from the 1986 cult classic film River’s Edge with late Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison. The musicians bonded over the drama while touring together, keeping up a text-message routine into the early morning hours across different international tour buses.
A Late-Night Cinematic Text Marathon
Jordison immediately recited a line from River’s Edge. Dailor fired back instantly with the proper follow-up dialogue.
“I got home at the end of that tour and I had an $800 phone bill,” Dailor told interviewers. His wife at the time asked if the charges came from trading movie quotes with Jordison. Dailor admitted it, explaining his drive: “I can’t let Joey know. I can’t let him think that I don’t know what the next line is.” Those exchanges regularly hit around 3 a.m. while the musicians sat on separate tour buses in places like Germany.
From Cult Film Fandom to Studio Samples
That 1986 film remains deeply personal to Dailor, who said River’s Edge acts as a touchstone for several of his closest friendships. That connection bled directly into Mastodon’s studio work on their album Marrow Deep.
The band worked dialogue spoken by Dennis Hopper’s character Feck straight into the new release. Dailor pointed to the specific sampled line—”I feel so [expletive] alive”—as an intentional statement for the band’s current artistic chapter. The new record, he said, acts as an emotionally powerful project representing a united front that celebrates perseverance rather than acting as a mournful piece of work.
Processing Grief in the Recording Studio
Recording sessions for Marrow Deep unfolded under heavy emotional weight following the death of former bandmate Brent Hinds and the passing of Dailor’s mother, according to discussions with Full Metal Jackie. Dailor and bassist Troy Sanders stepped into pre-production roughly six days after Hinds’ death, leaning on the studio process as both a therapeutic outlet and a memorial.
Rebooting the Lineup for 2026
Sanders emphasized that while the band will never downplay the magnitude of Hinds’ legacy, songwriting contributions, and character, the project ultimately shifted toward a rejuvenated outlook. The recording sessions also brought in new full-fledged members Nick Johnston and João Nogueira, injecting fresh energy into the studio dynamic as the group gears up for a 2026 tour schedule.
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