Mastodon — Crack The Skye

Crack The Skye

Reprise/Warner

Andre Mihsin (CHARTattack)

03/24/2009 3:52pm

Mastodon have been in the running for the title of best and most innovative American heavy metal band since their formation in 1999. The release of Crack The Skye should pretty much solidify that honour, as they've simultaneously delivered their magnum opus while reinventing themselves as the metal giants they were destined to become.

Although they're still the same bastard child of Neurosis and Crowbar you know and love, Mastodon have grown to further embrace their progressive and psychedelic roots this time. Unlike their shaggy namesake, this band have truly evolved and will survive well after the neanderthals of the Ozzfest generation are long extinct.

Mastodon have managed to trim what little fat that prevented 2004's Leviathan and 2006's Blood Mountain — both superb records — from reaching true classic status. Gone are the wearing and overly technical guitar and drum duels, and in their place is more focus, atmosphere and groove.

Guitar solos soar rather than stumble under their own complexity. Vocally, there's less screaming and growling and far more harmonies and singing that display a surprising level of range and emotion. At times, you could almost — almost — be tricked into thinking you're listening to Peter Gabriel, not Mastodon.

They've also added some prog staples such as keys and various percussion instruments — not so much as to make it cheesy, but just enough to give it that "out of this world" kind of feel.

Although it's tracked as seven separate songs, Crack The Skye is more like a single movement with seven parts beginning with the ambient intro of "Oblivion," peaking in the middle with the four-part epic Rasputin-inspired "The Czar" and finishing with the banging "The Last Baron."

This isn't some pretentious wankfest we've heard from other bands. This is Mastodon's most diverse, emotional and well-crafted album to date and could rank Crack The Skye as this era's ...And Justice For All or Seasons In The Abyss.

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