 Back in the days when Mastodon were a mere spec in the vast world of heavy rock/metal, they were described as "The next Metallica". The hype built around Mastodon (mainly from your ever bumming Kerrang magazine) had them parading amongst the rock legends. In their own right Mastodon have an incredible sound and style, but nothing similar to Metallica. Funnily enough Mastodon are set to play alongside Metallica on their "World Magnetic Tour' at the end of 2009.
Upon reading articles and interviews it was essential to check the band out with their brilliant second album 'Leviathan'. This album was a ten track strong army of heavy/progresive sludge metal that was quite new (to my ears anywhoo). The raspy vocals from Brett Hinds just grind your ears down into a pulp, in a good way. This alongside some very complicated melodies and riffs made 'Leviathan' a solid import from the band. Following this they continued their audi onslaught and released anther spanking "New Wave American Heavy Metal" album "Blood Mountain". Again this had a similar sound and was another turgid implant to their reputation. Their newest release three years later "Crack The Skye" has a slightly different angle, with them playing on the more progressive route. With only seven tracks on the album they still manage to bang out just over over fifty minutes of pure adrenaline fueled metal.
Each track on the album has so many different layers and textures going on it's unreal. Kinda makes you wonder how the hell they conjure up such density in five minutes and with only four members. Vocally lead singer Brett Hinds seems to hum along with the guitar lines throughout, adding a kind of bass line running parallel with it. "Oblivion" kicks off 'Crack The Skye' with and raining down effect of drums, they seem to tumble into the track, kind of like an avalanche. "Quitenssence" follows suite with raining down the pain of tumbling drums to introduce the track. Mastodon seem to have gone a little more experimental by slowing down some of the riffs, with a similar style to God Is An Astronaught, Isis and This Will Destroy, you to name a few. Production wise, 'Crack The Skye seems to have progressed alot from the other three albums that Mastodon have delivered. Some interesting effects have been added to the plethora of sounds featured on each track. In particular one very cool snare snap/boom/bang with a 80's reverb situation sounds like it shouldn't be in there after a few listens but still gels together the gritty sounds. Track four, "The Czar" begins with a church-like organic eerie piano riff that is truly un-settling. "Don't Stay, Run Away" is then chanted over a progression of drum layers and guitar melodies. Scary stuff. "The Czar" is labeled as having four parts on the album sleeve, which is a kind of redundant feature nowadays, The Mars Volta have used it often, especially for 'Frances The Mute'. The song is ten minutes long, so this is kind of expected. At times they seem to hit a Tool spot, sounding like something off '10,000 Days'. For a metal band they seem have gone a little kitten like, softening the blow of their skull crunching original material. The only real nut smasher is second the to last track "Crack The Skye" on which the guitar sounds very similar to Meshuggah's mind blowing heavyness. Yet they still manage to chill the song out with harmonies and a very cool vocal effect, very similar to "Coma White" from our most blamed transvestite Marilyn Manson. The album ends with "The Last Baron" that sounds alot like the other tracks on 'Crack The Skye' but this time the verse drum beat and melody is very catchy (my personal favourite drum beat as a paradidle).
The only criticism that could be said about "Crack The Skye" is the ability to differentiate between each track. To the untrained ear it could just sound like one or two very long songs. This is definitely one to come back to, as listening to the record in one sitting is like reading a novel in under an hour.
Tracks:
1.Oblivion
2. Divinations
3. Quintessence
4. The Czar: I. Usurper - II. Escape - III. Martyr - IV. Spiral
5. Ghost of Karelia
6. Crack the Skye
7. The Last Baron
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| | | | Overall Rating | | 8 | | Vocals / Lyrics | | 7 | | Musicianship | | 9 | | Production | | 9 | | Creativity | | 8 | | Lastability | | 6 | | Reviewers Tilt | | 9 |
80% | |
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Mastodon - Crack The Skye [Album]
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MASTODON premiere "CRACK THE SKYE" on Myspace Music