reviews

Mastodon - Crack The Skye

posted by: David on 7 April 2009

Let�s start off this review by saying what a truly great band Mastodon is. They are one of the very few to have brought something unique into the heavy rock scene the last years. And it�s not only just a mix of all the best elements from the seventies, eighties and nineties, it�s also adding new elements that are typical for Mastodon and immediately recognizable.

Their previous album �Blood Mountain� didn�t really do it for me. I liked �Leviathan� and �Remission� better. But the cool thing about Mastodon is that �Blood Mountain� is still a very good record. That�s how great this band is: even their weaker albums are still amazing.

�Crack The Skye� is by far their most accessible album until now, so there will probably be some accusations of selling out. There�s no need for that in my opinion, because Mastodon didn�t sell out in any way. They just made a more atmospheric and less brutal album. Conceptually it reminded me of bands like Tool and Pink Floyd, who also know how to really create a concept that is noticeable in every aspect.

That�s also the reason why I can�t imagine anyone just downloading these seven songs and not even take a look at the artwork or the �making of� DVD that accompanies this release. It's cool to see how much fun these four guys had when recording their new baby. The passage where drummer Brann Dailor tells about his youth trauma is very poignant. I am not gonna tell you what it was, just check it out for yourself. Just know that �Crack The Skye� is well worth your money as a total package.

Okay, on to the music then. From the first spin I liked all the songs, which is kind of strange, since I usually have to get accustomed to new Mastodon songs. But that�s probably because of their accessibility. There are only seven songs on this fifty minutes opus and the songs are flowing into each other very easily. When listening to �Crack the Skye� you don�t notice you're already listening to track five �Ghost of Karelia�.

The aggression of the previous releases is not much present on �Crack The Skye�, it�s all about melody and atmosphere. After the first spin I already had vocal lines and riffs of �Oblivion�, �Divinations� and �Quintessence� in my head. It�s that catchy. Especially the repeating phrase "Let it go" in �Quintessence� is like a part from a pop song. I told you it was accessible, didn't I?

As on �Leviathan� and �Blood Mountain� Scott Kelly once again lends his mean vocals to a track on a Mastodon album. His impressive vocals are dueling with the melodic vocal lines of Brett Hinds while the most aggressive part of the new album is overwhelming you in the title song.

During the last song �The Last Baron� Mastodon (or should I say Brann Dailor) experiments a lot with percussion and this song is like Mastodon having a jam session with the Mars Volta.

The magnum opus of this release is the centrepiece �The Czar�, which consists of four parts. It tells the story of Russia during the Tsar era. Musically there�s a lot to be heard in this track and I�m sure you�ll hear something new every time you listen to it. That�s my experience with Mastodon albums anyway.

I like every song on this album, so it�s pretty obvious that this one is a year list candidate for sure. I�ll go and listen to it some more now.

(Maurice added his thoughts to this review as well, so you could consider this a dual review)

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Related bandprofile: Mastodon

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Bayonetwork

Posted on 07.04.2009 (16:18)

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Nu al plaat van het jaar. Het zou me verbazen als hier nog iets over gaat.

Petertjuh

Posted on 08.04.2009 (00:05)

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100% met de review eens.

de 1e keer was het nogal wennen, toch een stuk rustiger / toegangkelijker.

Maar nu komt deze plaat elke dag wel voorbij.. en dat zal voorlopig wel zo blijven.

Pale man

Posted on 08.04.2009 (09:13)