Mastodon Are Releasing Vinyl Containing Actual Mastodon Fossils

Here’s the top contender for weirdest (and coolest) headline of the week: Mastodon are releasing an extremely limited run of vinyl LPs of their latest album Marrow Deep, which will contain actual mastodon fossils.

The band were gifted fossilized teeth from the Ice Age mammal by a fan approximately 20 years ago, according to a press release. After years of brainstorming what to do with said teeth, bassist and vocalist Troy Sanders came up with the idea to press them into vinyl. Their label Loma Vista matched them with Waxwork Records, who brought their vision to fruition alongside help from the University of Georgia’s geology department.

In a behind-the-scenes video, a geologist from University of Georgia ground the Mastodon teeth into a powder — or “bone dust” — via a “spex mill” before passing the material through a sieve. At Waxwork, the band got to make the vinyl themselves by sprinkling the dust onto the wax and pressing it.

“How cool is it to juxtapose something with 11,000 year old fossils with a modern 2026 Mastodon record?” Sanders says.

The run is limited to only 170 copies “due to the finite quantity of bone dust available.” Thus, Mastodon have opened up a random draw process via their Loma Vista artist storefront to ensure loyal fans have a fair chance to purchase the wax. Registration closes in approximately two days.

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Mastodon released Marrow Deep in August. Rolling Stone described the band’s ninth record as their own iteration of Pink Floyd’s Shine on You Crazy Diamond due to the album being recorded after the death of former bandmate Brent Hinds. “It’s heavy,” the review reads. “It’s also weirdly emotional, at least for a metal album.”

Mastodon are on tour through the United States through the end of October. Their next stop is tonight, Oct. 9, at the Fox Theater in Oakland, CA.