What's the chugging noise coming from the South? It's gotta be Mastodon! Having just revealed that their next album will be titled 'Once More Around the Sun,' the band is now serving up their first music from the disc -- a single called 'High Road,' which can be heard in full in the player below.

The track kicks off with a powerful chugging riff before drummer Brann Dailor steps in with a building drum beat that leads into the crux of the song. Dailor gets a chance to shine on 'High Road' as he lends support to the chugging track in some parts, but also provides it with some swing in others. But what about the guitars? Yes, 'High Road' has that in spades, and fans of guitar play will love it when the guitars kick in mid-song. There's also some pretty great vocal work, with the chorus dipping into Ozzy Osbourne territory a little bit.

Guitarist Bill Kelliher tells Loudwire that 'High Road' is a good reflection of what to expect on the album. "A lot of the stuff on the new record is very verse / chorus based," he explains. "A lot of it was built as 'less is more.' We've done our really complex, mathy and even proggy records, but I think we write our best stuff when we strip it away from there. We focus on clear verses and choruses and add the proggy stuff in -- salt and pepper it. I feel like we've done that in the past, where something wasn't complicated enough, so let's make it more complicated. It's like, no, let's make the song simpler. It took us a while to sound as good as I feel like it does."

If you like what you hear from 'High Road,' the song will officially be available on April 29. As for the album, a firm release date has not been announced, but the Nick Raskulinecz-produced 'Once More Around the Sun' is expected later this year. Visit the band's official website for more information.

Listen to Mastodon's 'High Road'

 

More From Loudwire