The first taste of "The Hunter" came in July 2011 where Mastodon released via YouTube the song "Black Tongue", set to a video of AJ Fosik creating the sculpture used for the album cover. By August 12, the band had revealed the track listing from "The Hunter" and debuted "Curl Of The Burl", the first official single from the new album. Mike Elizondo was chosen to produce the album which marks his first time working with the band. It was also announced that a deluxe edition would be released. It featured the two bonus tracks "The Ruiner" and "Deathbound" and a different cover.