Mastodon Slaughtered On ‘Game of Thrones’ And Loved It — Especially Becoming Zombies

Most people wouldn’t think spending hours in a frigid landscape and pretending to get your throat slit by a zombie is good fun. But most people aren’t in the metal band Mastodon. They joined a legion of musicians who’ve appeared on Game of Thrones over the years, playing some doomed wildlings’ in last night’s episode, SPIN reported.

[Warning, spoilers ahead.]

For a little set up, last night, Lord Commander Jon Snow headed to Hardhome with his wildling buddy, Tormund, in an attempt to get the latter’s people to safety south of the wall and away from the White Walkers and their minions.

Then the Game of Thrones’ writers throw a little coincidence our way. Just as they were boarding the ships that would take them to safety, the “ice zombies,” or wights, as Uproxx described them, descended upon 5,000 people — including Mastadon’s Brann Dailor, Bill Kelliher, and Brent Hinds. Don’t feel bad if you didn’t catch them — there were hundreds and hundreds of extras, and they all pretty much looked the same. Even the women.

For Dailor — a huge Game of Thrones fan — getting to play pretend with fellow Mastodon members and live on forever as gutted extras was beyond awesome.

“It was such an incredible experience to be on set as extras and to be wildlings murdered and then brought back to life by White Walkers was beyond amazing. I watched my best friends Brent and Bill, murdered right in front of me as I myself was stabbed in the stomach and had my throat slit multiple times, and I didn’t mind at all. We are more than privileged and honored to have been a part of one of the greatest stories ever told on film, and the catering wasn’t bad either.”

Game of Thrones is nearing the end of its fifth season, and “Hardhome” was a heart-throbbing way to lead audiences to the season finale. It featured a beautifully stark landscape (real-life Ireland), a terrifying contingent of soulless White Walkers perched on a cliff watching the slaughter, and their undead hoard, which perpetrated it. At one point, the wights, or zombies, fell from the cliff like a waterfall onto the wildlings’ safe harbor below, sending Jon Snow and company (including Mastodon) racing for the ocean.

But Mastadon isn’t the only band to feature on the show, nor is it their first collaboration. They provided a track called “White Walker” (fitting, seeing as how that’s how they met their end on the show) to a Game of Thrones Mixtape.

Coldplay’s drummer Will Champion played drums with the band at the Red Wedding, just before the Starks were slaughtered. Sigur Ros played “The Rains of Castamere” at that infamous wedding, as well.

Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody played “The Bear and the Maiden Fair” during Season 3. And a couple more versions of those songs were recorded by The National and Hold Steady, respectively.

[Photo Courtesy Twitter]