Their immediate focus may be on the upcoming Sonisphere set at Knebworth but Mastodon have obviously got one eye on the longer-term plans for 2011. The band have been working away diligently on the follow up to the 2009 album Crack The Skye and the new record is set to be released later on this year.

Here comes The Hunter

The new Mastodon album will be entitled The Hunter and was recorded in Los Angeles and Atlanta. The band worked alongside Mike Elizondo in producing the album, with the producer probably being best known for his work with Avenged Sevenfold.

Get set to hear these songs later in the year

A number of song titles have been announced from the album and fans can look forward to listening to 'Curl of the Burl', 'Dry Bone Valley', 'Blasteroids', 'The Octopus Has No Friends', 'All The Heavy Lifting' and 'Stargasm'.

The group is also currently offering a free song culled from the sessions that created their 2009 album on the Adult Swim website. The track is called 'Deathbound' and was left over from the sessions from that period of time. This doesn't necessarily mean it was of inferior quality to the other songs on the record but hardcore fans will no doubt be intrigued to hear what the track sounds like.

The rest of 2011 is definitely shaping up to be a busy time for the group but this is exactly the way that fans like it!