Mastodon, Alice in Chains Supergroup Plots Debut LP
Giraffe Tongue Orchestra – a rock supergroup featuring current and former members of Mastodon, Alice in Chains, Dillinger Escape Plan, Dethklok and the Mars Volta – will release its debut LP Broken Lines, on September 23rd via Party Smasher Inc/Cooking Vinyl.
“During the time Mastodon was there for Soundwave, I was at the zoo in Sydney, Australia and was checking out the giraffes,” Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds said explaining the band’s colorful name. “[Giraffes] are amazing animals – one just grabbed a bunch of bananas from my hand with its tongue and peeled them with it as well – by the time the bananas got to its mouth, they were ready to be eaten. I saw Ben and said ‘Man I think I found the name for our band.'”
The band includes Alice in Chains singer William DuVall, Mastodon’s Hinds, Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist Ben Weinman, Dethklok bassist Pete Griffin and former Mars Volta drummer Thomas Pridgen. Actress-musician Juliette Lewis contributes backing vocals on the album and Queens of the Stone Age drummer Jon Theodore appears on two tracks.
“Brent, William, and myself have all been friends for a long time,” added Weinman. “Finishing the [Giraffe Tongue Orchestra] record with William completes the puzzle. He is a man of diverse talents, and this band gives him the opportunity to spread his wings.”
Singer DuVall said his lyrical process with Giraffe defies convention and feels more like writing a film score. “The mood shifts rapidly and drastically within a [Giraffe] song … There were a lot of times where, if you were trying to impose conventional rock songwriting standards on this, you’d be in a whole world of trouble.”
Broken Lines is available to pre-order via PledgeMusic, Amazon and iTunes.