Fuck. Have you ever tried to review a fucking Mastodon record?! It’s not easy! Imagine trying to untangle your headphones with no thumbs. Mastodon’s sound has always been a multi-layered and almost impossible to simplify into a five hundred word review and their latest release ‘Crack The Skye‘ is no different. Mastodon have been around propping up mega line-ups at heavy metal festivals and gigs for years now. Playing second fiddle to unspeakable shit like Machine Head (Yeah I said it….and fuck Rob Flynn, too!) and generally getting buried by the flavor of the month “metal bands”.
Of course, Mastodon have headlined their own shows, have their own base of die-hard fans and have released some seriously heavyweight metal albums in the forms of ‘Remission‘ and ‘Leviathan‘ but it is with ‘Crack The Skye‘ that Mastodon catch their fan base off guard with an album from way out of left field. While this album shows that the band have grown and will continue to evolve, die-hards need not worry. The ever present dueling vocals and guitars that encapsulate Mastodon’s trademark sound are ever present on this album but it’s the individual vocal talents of Brent Hinds and Troy Sanders that shine through as both opt for a cleaner, less distorted sound as is evident in album opener ‘Oblivion‘.
In a move away from the guitar driven metal records of the past, the band have experimented with various different instruments adding a ton of depth to the record. There is use of a vocoda on title track ‘Crack The Skye‘ the continuous use of a keyboard throughout the record and even the addition of a sodding banjo as in an intro to ‘Divinations‘. All of this is fused together by Brann Dailor’s drumming. His skill and technique are executed with such precision it’s not even funny. Sanders’ tech bass rounds off the rhythm section perfectly and it’s these two that really drive home the record in places where it could easily disappear up its own prog-metal arse. It’s the perfect accompaniment to Hinds’ and Bill Kelliher’s blistering axe-work.
The jewels in the crown are by far ‘The Czar‘ and ‘The Last Baron‘. Each an epic, ten min, opus to Rasputin and Czarist Russia. For those of you who did GCSE history, this should be a familiar subject. Both tracks are a weird mix of echoing mantras, melodic choruses and layered solos with added groove to boot. These tracks really show case what Mastodon are about. From the technical aspect of their sound to the epic riffs to the mythology behind the song writing. It all culminates in these two amazing pieces of music. I don’t know if the term ‘prog out’ exists but that’s exactly what I was doing when I first heard these awesome tracks.
‘Crack The Skye‘ seems much more calculated and focused in comparison to previous release ‘Blood Mountain‘ and I’m sure people will criticize how “polished” it sounds as well. I think that if you lose production values, the complex nature of Mastodon’s sound gets easily lost. Super producer Brendan O’Brian knows this and has worked with the band to produce one of their best albums to date. Many believe that this is the album that is going to give Mastodon the final push to the “next level”. I’m not so sure. Mastodon have always been at that level for many years in my eyes and if you didn’t get them before, why the fuck would you get them now? Either way, there is no other band out there today doing something as original and something as technically impressive as these four men from Atlanta.
Tom Lindsey.