Mastodon

When a band is pigeonholed into a genre, it sometimes makes it extremely hard for that band to grow. And when it comes to metal music, the one huge thing a metal band needs to fear is pissing off its fan base. Metal heads are some of the toughest sells to change. They want speedy riffs, heavy vocals and overall brutality. In the case of Mastodon, the band's past few efforts have showed winds of change, but were still essentially brutal, metal. Mastodon has decided to do the unholy shift in scope and sound on their new record, Crack the Skye. From the perspective of a non-metal head, this album is a transcendent piece of spaced out prog metal that shows the band at it’s most coherent and precise. The shift in production and sound may piss off some metal heads, but to be honest, if they can’t get down with this record, fuck em.

Crack the Skye is a revelation. Mastodon has always written intricate stories within their brand of metal. Leviathan took a stab at Melville’s Moby Dick and Blood Mountain tells tales of strange forest creatures and paranoia. Ambition is something that Mastodon has in spades and Crack the Skye may be the most ambitious yet. A story of astral travel, golden umbilical cords, usurping Czars, Rasputin, the devil and lofty out of body experiences pervade the story arc of the album and with that, we have easily the strangest and most unique concept album in some years. Their past records are said to represent one of the elementals and this time around, the element of aether, the space between the heavens and Earth, is definitely executed not just thematically but musically.

Album opener and stellar single “Oblivion” rockets through a chugging riff and launches the listener into this world. The vocals, which in exchange for Mastodon’s usual screams and howls, moves to melodic harmonies and lamentations. Although the mood and structure of songs is somewhat different, with touches of Tool style prog and Pink Floyd melodic guitar soloing, Mastodon’s signature booming rhythm section and multi-vocalists still prevails. “Divinations” is a superb rocker with a howlingly fast guitar passage and bone crushing drumming.

The second half of the record houses some of Mastodon’s finest work to date. The loud and technical “Ghost of Karelia” is the albums high point. Structurally, the song is a workout of epic proportions. A pulsating riff with a hypnotic bass line that is constantly swirling and changing, it’s dynamic, fast-paced metal that is a welcome change to the bands thrashy goodness. “Crack the Skye” is where we hear Mastodon at their more traditional with the help of Scott Kelly of Neurosis. His beckoning screams a backed by a furious drum beat that pummels your ears and a deep chugging guitar part that is relentless and loud. The album closes with “The Last Baron,” a lofty 13-minute metal epic that never eases up and spazzes out from time to time. It has movements that are an all out assault on the ears. It’s the pinnacle of the albums intensity.

The complaints are sure to flow, but at the same time, Mastodon has definitely topped themselves. This brand of audacious space prog from a generally brutal metal band comes as a pleasant surprise. The band is embracing the album format more so than before with a seamless flow and a theme, although ambitious, very intriguing and coherent. Masterfully crafted, Crack the Skye is a fitfully brilliant rock record that takes no time to get into. It isn’t a sellout record by any stretch. Major label success has yet to ruin Mastodon’s integrity and this disc is nothing short of dazzling.

by Paul Tsikitas

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