Mastodon’s Bill Kelliher says Turnstile are “bringing back all the cool things” about bands he used to listen to
Turnstile’s record Glow On appears to have been a huge influence on Kelliher and his songwriting.
Image: Rune Hellestad / Getty
Mastodon’s Bill Kelliher has been praising Turnstile for reviving the “cool things” about the bands he used to listen to growing up.
Speaking to us at Guitar.com in a new interview, Kelliher who plays rhythm guitar for Mastodon, said that whilst there’s no official announcement out there on new music from the band, he confirmed “things are happening”.
And with new music, often comes new influences: “I want to write music that’s really fucking heavy and to the point. I want it to sound like Mastodon but steer away from the long, drawn-out songs. I feel like we’ve been on that kind of kick for a while, and I want to move on to something a little more tangible,” he explained.
“The stuff I’m working on is the sort of stuff that comes out swinging, you know? I’ve been listening to a lot of Turnstile, and their last record, Glow On, to me, is fucking great,” Kelliher said. “I just love their guitars, and their production of it sounds great. Their songwriting is really good. It reminds me of Bad Brains, but if they were more modern, with some Jane’s Addiction mixed in.”
When asked if the record had reinvigorated his songwriting he replied, “In a way, yes. That Turnstile record kind of my interest in writing in that way. It’s like, ‘Well, you guys are bringing back all the cool things about the bands that I used to listen to and really look up to. I wanna do more of that.’ I’m a product of the 80s and early 90s when all that kind of stuff was really popular.”
Mastodon are touring in April, you can get tickets at mastodonrocks.com.