The Ashes of Leviathan tour, featuring Mastodon and Lamb of God celebrating the 20th anniversary of their respective 2004 albums, Leviathan and Ashes of the Wake, launches Friday in Grand Prairie, Texas.
"I really think, very biasedly, that we have the best heavy music tour going out this summer," LoG bassist John Campbell tells ABC Audio. "I'm really excited to feel like we're out there crushing."
Not only were Leviathan and Ashes of the Wake released the same year, they dropped on the exact same day: Aug. 31, 2004.
"Many fans of ours bought both records on the same day," Mastodon vocalist/bassist Troy Sanders says. "We've befriended those guys so well and shared many stages around the world with Lamb of God. So it's just too cool of a coincidence and a wonderful thing that happened in history to not go out together and celebrate."
In one instance of sharing stages, LoG frontman Randy Blythe joined Mastodon for a show in 2023 to sing the bridge on the song "Blood and Thunder." As for whether Blythe will reprise that role on the tour, Sanders says, "Of course we'd welcome that."
"[Blythe's] a dear friend of ours," Sanders. "It's a guest spot waiting to be filled."
In addition to both bands returning to the albums that took them to a new level in their careers, the tour has also made Campbell reflect on "who we were then and who we are now."
"We were a mess 20 years ago," Campbell laughs. "That we are still here doing this now, there's an insane amount of luck that got us here and that no one has been injured worse than they have."