The musicians are helped by producer Matt Bayles, who has previously worked with Isis, Joan Osborne and Pearl Jam, among others.

The CD will be mixed later this month in New York by Rich Costey (Audioslave, Fiona Apple, Muse, Franz Ferdinand, The Mars Volta, etc).

The follow-up to 2004`s \"Leviathan\" is set for release in August via Warner. Comments drummer Bränn Dailor on behalf of the band:

\"It\'s hard to be inside something and talk to people about it. And it`s kind of a cliché that the people in the band think that what they`re working on at the moment is the best stuff they`ve ever done. But I guess that`s the way that we feel. It`s just more intense, more — I mean I like everything we`ve ever done. But at the moment, I`m really digging on this stuff. It`s hard for me to put into words what`s different about it. It`s just better.\"

Bränn Dailor says he hopes to start a prog revolution:

The timing`s right. You`ve got a Tool record that`s coming out, an Isis record that`s coming out, a Mars Volta record that`s coming out, a Mastodon record that`s coming out, and I hope that converges into something really awesome for music where it doesn`t become pop, but there`s a little more sharing of the pie. It would be cool if you had kids in their bedrooms not trying to learn Linkin Park songs, but they`re trying to learn Mastodon songs. It`s cool music that`s honest and from the heart, and it`s technically challenging.\"