Crack the Skye [CD]

The trend from Leviathan and Blood Mountain is for the music to be evolving every time. Each album gets richer, bigger sounding and dare I say it for some Metal fans more melodic. Crack the Skye follows the trend perfectly. Its still got a hardcore heart, but anyone focussing on that element is missing the point. Mastodon are about the music and not the label. For me this album is grown up metal. Sometimes the harder the music the less the affect. You need the light to appreciate the dark. This album has both in spades. Every listen I can't help but be impressed with the sheer talent of the musicianship and vision and scope of the sound. The sound quality is awesome, some really great production on this album, as with their last two. This album should go down as an all time great.

I don't know how Mastodon do it, but once again they've managed to release an album that tops their previous effort as career highlight; Mastodon just keep getting better and better. Crack The Skye takes the ball 'Blood Mountain,' brought and runs with it, The music is even more progressive, even more virtuosic and the material is even more dense.

Somehow Mastodon have also simultaneously reinvented themselves and stayed true to their trademark sound at the same time. The jangly, awkward riffs are the same and the complex jazzy drumming is the same, but the music has a fresh, cleaner and at first glance more 'listenable,' air to it; in addition to this the production is amazing, the artwork is in keeping with the tone of all Mastodon artwork to date and once again the album is a concept album. No doubt a few fans in Remission T-shirts will still label this album as a sell out despite the fact that this is Mastodon's least commercial offering to date due to the length, density and originality of the music.

Fans of the direction Mastodon started to take with Leviathan and especially with Blood Mountain will welcome Crack The Skye as the next logical step; praising the numerous guitar solos, haunting clean vocals and entertaining lyrics. Everything you'd expect in terms of passion and performance is represented here and represented in stronger doses than ever before. The album is bursting with new ideas, with exciting bass lines, complicated time shifts and yet all the force you'd expect from the band who wrote Remission.

If you have an open mind there is a hell of a lot to enjoy here, such as the new Keys and synths, along with longer songs and cleaner vocals (plus more vocalists) that add whole new dimensions to the sound that Mastodon previously only hinted at in songs like 'Ol Nessie,' and 'Sleeping Giant.'

Some may be surprised to find that in addition to the amazing Troy and the aggressive Brent, Brann Dailor appears to be lending his vocal talents to the album. Additionally, many fans will welcome Scott Kelly back for yet another wonderful guest vocal appearance.

There is little point in naming standout tracks as the entire album is the best thing the band have ever done, but if I was forced to pick a favorite I'd pick 'The Czar,' which is probably the coolest song you'll hear all year, that or 'The Last Baron,' which has some beautiful acoustic moments, some lead epic guitar moments and an awesome section that seems like a cheeky tribute to '21st Century Schizoid Man,' over all the song is like a bizarre cross between 'Trampled Under Hoof,' with 'This Mortal Soil,' and the drumming is just so impressive.

Overall; Although at first the album may seem like a departure, repeat listens will reveal moments that could fit at the end of 'Hearts Alive,' or fit into the middle of 'Mother Puncher.' In fact the first single 'Divinations,' sounds like it could fit well on the Blood Mountain album. The most important thing however, is the sheer quality of music, I really can't recommend this album highly enough, to fans of metal, to fans of prog or just to anyone with an open mind.

***This edition comes surprisingly with no slipcase but does have a gold coloured spine to match up with the rest of the Mastodon spines. Most importantly it comes with a hour and a half long making of DVD which is very entertaining and informative, which sheds lights on the writing process as well as the recording process and contains interviews with all band members and the new Keys player Richard Morris. Well worth the money to see the down to earth guys talk about their career, the new album and how it was made.***

I recently had the opportunity to listen to all 4 Mastodon albums in order on a long car journey and it made for interesting listening. You can hear the bands sound evolving. The first album is raw in your face metal, interesting but not for the squeemish. By the time you get to this album the sound has become more commercial (For want of a better word). That is not to say it is commercial, this is not the Black album and won't appeal to non fans of heavy music. And that is not a bad thing, this is still very much Mastodon. It takes a few more listens to get into this album than the previous albums, but it is definitely worth the effort. It is an excellent album but I can't see it breaking them into the really big time, but that's fine they have managed to evolve without sacrificing that essential Mastodon sound. Recommended!!