as some lyrical content, is a tribute to Skye, the younger sister of drummer Brann Dailor, who committed suicide at the age of fourteen. Themes touched on within the album include "dark magic(k), astral travelling and the role of Rasputin in the downfall of Czarist Russia". The Hunter does not deal with an entire concept like their earlier work. The title is a tribute to Hinds' brother, Brad Hinds, who died of a heart attack on December 4, 2010, while hunting. Once More 'Round the Sun, like its predecessor, is not a concept album. It features themes such as relationships, struggles and hardships. The album was based on the various events that took place in each band member's lives the year before the album release. Emperor of Sand mainly deals with the themes of death and survival and is about a desert wanderer faced with a death sentence. The lyrics were inspired by the friends and family members of the band who were diagnosed with cancer. Hushed and Grim has to do with grief, guilt, and the afterlife. Mastodon pays tribute to the memory of longtime friend and manager Nick John with their first ever double-album and a surrounding death mythology. According to drummer and co-vocalist Brann Dailor, in this mythology “When you die, your soul inhabits the heart of a living tree. You have to experience the seasons the way that a tree does through a whole calendar year. That’s the way you have to say goodbye to the natural world. And in that time, you reflect on the pillars of the life that you lived. You get to atone for things that you’ve done.” Visual art Artwork Artist Paul Romano was responsible for all of the band's album art and backdrops up to 2011. The artwork for the band's fifth studio album The Hunter was made by AJ Fosik, a woodcarver who was also responsible for the backdrop the band used live at the time. Oakland-based artist Skinner, who, in his own words, specializes in "psychedelic nightmare paintings", has taken the reins on Once More 'Round the Sun. "It's going to be a work of art for sure. It's going to be very eye-opening", said bassist Troy Sanders before the album's release. "Very striking. It's from another dimension, and a lot of our music is geared toward that idea—taking you to another planet on songs. It's out there,