Mastodon have dropped a new single. In The Ruins, which was inspired by the devastating impact Hurricane Helene had on vocalist and bassist Troy Sanders and his family.
The storm hit the south-eastern United States in September 2024 and severely flooded the family’s home and destroyed their belongings, leaving them displaced for almost two years.
Meanwhile, its vibrant animated video was created by Hey Beautiful Jerk, who has crafted a story of a fever dream journey by a single-eyed creature named Frank across flooded, ruined landscapes.
"The initial inspiration for Frank and the concept for In The Ruins came to me when I was in the ER for 10 hours with the worst eye infection of my life,” says Hey Beautiful Jerk. “The pain was so bad it felt like my eye was revolting and wanted to escape my head. I had just talked to Brann about the meaning of the song and how it was inspired by his and Troy's recent losses. The expression ‘picking up the pieces’ came to me and I sketched a very rough version of Frank on my phone, capturing the idea as fast as I could before my eye wanted to escape my face once again."
Check it out below:
