appeared in episode 8 of the season as wildlings. This mixtape will also feature songs by various other acts, ranging from Killswitch Engage to Snoop Dogg. Hinds and Kelliher once again returned to Game of Thrones as wights among the White Walker army for the season 7 finale episode, "The Dragon and the Wolf". The band's seventh studio album, Emperor of Sand, was released on March 31, 2017. The theme for the album was cancer, inspired by Troy's wife who was diagnosed with cancer, and Bill's mother who lost her life to cancer. It details the story of a traveler banished to the desert by an emperor, in effect giving him a death sentence. The story is a metaphor for someone diagnosed with terminal cancer. The first single, "Show Yourself", was released in February, and had peaked at number 4 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart in June, making it the band's highest-charting song to date. The second single, "Steambreather", peaked at number 18 on the same chart in October. Mastodon also released an EP titled Cold Dark Place on September 22 of the same year. It was a four-song EP, featuring three songs recorded during the Once More 'Round the Sun sessions, and one track recorded during the Emperor of Sand sessions. The first single for the EP, "Toe to Toes" was released on September 1, 2017. Brent Hinds stated that the inspiration behind some of the songs recorded for Cold Dark Place, which he wrote, were inspired by a nasty breakup that he had endured. Describing the sound of the record, Hinds stated that "I wrote some pretty dark, beautiful, spooky, funky, ethereal, melancholy music, which also sounds like the Bee Gees a little bit." On December 1, the band released a revised version of the 12-part "The Making of Emperor of Sand" documentary via their official YouTube channel. Mastodon were announced to be on a co-headlining Summer 2018 Tour with Primus spanning across North America lasting from May to July. Medium Rarities and Hushed and Grim (2020–present) On July 31, 2020, Mastodon released a new song titled "Fallen Torches" and announced a compilation album of rare material titled Medium Rarities, which was released on September 11, 2020. On June 17, 2021, the band announced a partnership with livestreaming company Dreamstage to present a live acoustic set in their hometown of Atlanta at the Georgia Aquarium