Mastodon Cover Led Zeppelin in Honor of Late Manager for Record Store Day

Mastodon are working on new music, but may not be aiming for a release this year. However, fans of the band won't go all of 2019 without a fresh new song. In fact, Mastodon have covered Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" in honor of their late manager Nick John and titled their version, "Stairway to Nick John."

The song will be released on April 13 as the band's contribution for the annual Record Store Day nationwide event. Only 1,5000 copies are being pressed to 10-inch vinyl, so you'll definitely want to get your hand on one of these collectors items. As it is a vinyl, there are two sides, with a studio version of the track on Side A and a live version on Side B.

John had professed his fandom for Led Zeppelin, with the guys in Mastodon embracing their manager's love for the hard-riffing rock icons and deciding to cover his favorite group.

“In early September 2018 we lost one of our closest friends and our biggest fan, our manager Nick John. He was essentially the band’s Dad," the members reveal in a statement. "From our highest highs to our lowest lows he was always there. Every single move we made went through him first as our trust in him was marrow deep. His favorite band besides us and Gojira, was Led Zeppelin. We were asked to perform 'Stairway to Heaven' at his funeral. Afterwards, finding out that someone had recorded it, we figured we should record a studio version and release it on RSD as a tribute to Nick with all the proceeds to be donated to pancreatic cancer research. We would not be the band we are today without the help of Nick John. We miss him dearly and think of him always. We love you buddy!”

All of the proceeds benefit the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research and you can find out more info on the organization here. The "Stairway to Nick John" version will be made available on all digital service providers in May after the Record Store Day promotion.

In addition to the Mastodon offering, Warner Bros. have also revealed a wealth of new Record Store Day vinyl, including Green Day's Woodstock 1994 live platter, My Chemical Romance's The Black Parade Is Dead (Live in Mexico), soundtracks for the Transformers movies and additional offerings from the Flaming Lips, Eric Clapton, Goo Goo Dolls, Gorillaz, Emmylou Harris, Houndmouth and a variety of other soundtracks.

Be sure to visit the Record Store Day website for a full rundown of vinyl offerings for the special day.

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