Review : MASTODON – “Crack The Skye”

Mastodon – “Crack The Skye”
released March 24, 2009 by Reprise

Yes…yes, they have. 2009: A Mastodon Odyssey!

A brief run through: 1) Mastodon pop! (still badass); 2) perfect lead single, leanest track, with a wicked hark back to Dick Dale on the solo; 3) aptly named, and may be quintessential, with everything you’d want, plus unexpected surprises (like channelling Lemmy in the chorus); 4) holy fuck, THAT is prog metal (~11 min of it!); 5) judging by the riff, Karelia may be the ghost of the ‘Sleeping Giant’; 6) first foray into even light/dark vocals on the album, with a high and clean vocoder to boot; 7) a 13 minute opus, with a sweet jibed jam about 6 minutes in.

To restate my assumption: the 5 fingers of Mastodon are Kyuss, Clutch, Thin Lizzy, Rush, and Voivod. My only caveat on the album is the lyrics, which I was feeling most of the time, but every once in a while, my eyebrows knit. The vocals have flipped from 80% gruff, 20% clean to 20/80 respectively, with additional vocals from drummer Brann Dailor, and contributions by Scott Kelly (of Neurosis, his third guest appearance) on the title track. The band’s first collaboration with Brendan O’Brien (Pearl Jam, RATM, King’s X) proves wise, as their subtlety of texture grows ever intricate, and the need for crossover appeal is dire.

And yes: headphones, headphones, headphones!

A Best Of 2009 pick.

FCC OK
Try 1, *2*, *3*, *4*, 5, 6, 7

01. Oblivion
02. Divinations
03. Quintessence
04. The Czar (I. Usurper/II. Escape/III. Martyr/IV. Spiral)
05. Ghost of Karelia
06. Crack The Skye
07. The Last Baron

Rating: