Crack the Skye

Mastodon | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 24, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Reprise Records
• ASIN: B001R4MEYI
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (149 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,109 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #21 in Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > Post Hardcore
  • #84 in Music > Hard Rock & Metal > Thrash & Speed Metal
  • #95 in Music > Hard Rock & Metal > Progressive Metal

Editorial Reviews

Mastodon has taken hold of the leadership of the New Wave of Progressive Heavy Metal. The band's 2006 major-label debut Blood Mountain spun off a Grammy nomination and earned Top 5 Best Album Of The Year nods from Kerrang!, Revolver, and Metal Hammer, and a Top 10 at Rolling Stone. Now Crack The Skye, its fourth original studio album, mines subject matter from czarist Russia and astral travel to out-of-body experiences and Stephen Hawking's theories on wormholes for an unrepentantly heavy aural assault that will shake the heavens.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CRACK THE SKULL!, March 26, 2009

By 

Murat Batmaz (Istanbul, Turkey) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crack the Skye (Audio CD)

Without getting into the debate as to whether Crack the Skye is Mastodon's best album to date, one would be wise to just point out its differences, both strengths and shortcomings, and leave it to the fans to do the ranking.

On first listen, Crack the Skye will immediately stand out for its easily noticeable absence of screamed vocals. Troy Sanders uses his clean voice on almost all the tunes, with very few exceptions. Without doubt, it will take some time to get used to his style, but repeat listens only serve to solidify one's opinion that the songs on this disc have been composed in such a style to sound much better with this approach. Pain-ridden vocals pop up only to provide contrast to the more melodious direction taken in spots. The chorus on "Ghost of Karelia", for instance, proves all the more powerful as the vocals shift from the mostly clean style to somewhat aggressive outbursts.

The guitar tandem of Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher lend the songs a solid, unbreakable facade, which elevates them to a whole new level. From the apocalyptic opening chords of "Oblivion", chock full of despondent riffs and rock-based guitar solos; to the calculated riffery of "Divinations", they implant dynamics to the compositions through and through. Rather than entirely focusing on heavy, punishing jackhammer riffery, this time around they also utilise progressive metal-like jam sessions and blues-inflected passages. As a result, the constant shifting of dynamics on "Quintessence" renders the tune more creative and interesting.

The ten-minute epic "The Czar" is built upon flawless songwriting and mood construction. Broken down into four parts, it launches into an unadulterated groove from the mellow "Usurper" to "Escape", though the vocal melody on this one is not among Mastodon's best. With "Martyr," things retreat back to clean acoustic lines before picking up the trademark Mastodon riffs and seguing into a wonderful blues-inflected solo.

Scott Kelly from the amazing Neurosis continues the tradition to guest on Mastodon discs (he also sang on Leviathan and Blood Mountain) and appears on the title track, among the album's most progressive pieces as it strangely recalls 90's King Crimson in the way the guitars have been arranged. The guitar solo on this track is among the best ever!

As stated above, how Crack the Skye will rank in Mastodon's catalog remains to be seen. However, from a production standpoint, it is by far the band's best-sounding album. It was produced by the great Brendan O'Brien whose resume includes all kinds of different artists, from Pearl Jam to Stone Temple Pilots to Bruce Springsteen to AC/DC to Aerosmith to name but a few. O'Brien has managed to create a dense album with many layers, thick guitar tapestries, and heavy, solid drum and bass battery. He was also unafraid to render sound effects on Sanders' voice with great results.

The album title is a homage to drummer Brann Dailor's sister Skye Dailor who committed suicide at the age of 14, so this is obviously among the more personal musical statements of the band.

Highly recommended.

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Skye is Falling, March 28, 2009

By 

doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Crack the Skye (Audio CD)

Mastodon's last album (Blood Mountain) displayed their nastiest chops ever, but got a bit showoff-ish and self-indulgent. But now Mastodon is dead serious, and Crack the Skye is no laughing matter, lyrically or musically. A convoluted lyrical concept about space travel and czarist Russia is actually a cover for Mastodon's most haunting thoughts ever, inspired by the childhood death of Brann Dailor's sister and the recent severe head injury suffered by Brent Hinds. The band's music is becoming less flashy and more dramatic, played with an epic grandeur that easily becomes bigger than the sum of its parts. The four players have surrendered to the sound, with less hot-dogging and more teamwork. Even the monstrously hyper Dailor on drums has slowed things down a bit, reminding the listener less of a speed demon and more of a coiled snake. The vocals are more in tune with the mood of the music, and this album's lyrics are surprisingly deep and introspective. Mastodon have surely become big-thinking and forward-looking pure musicians.

All of the above has given Mastodon the biggest and most compelling sound in modern metal, and this album is sonically imposing and unforgiving from the first note. They even make a banjo sound ominous at the beginning of "Divinations." Epic grooves and jarring time shifts add to the success of the rifftastic "Quintessence" and the especially disturbing "Ghost of Karelia." And after dozens of listens I'm still trying to comprehend the two 10+ minute epics "The Czar" and "The Last Baron" and I know that these tracks will unveil new musical surprises for months and even years to come. And that's what makes this not just Mastodon's best album yet but also one of the best metal albums in recent memory. It will surely reward repeated listens. Mastodon's huge sounds and huge thoughts have come together in terrifying ways. [~doomsdayer520~]

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Sound, Same Score, March 29, 2009

By 

General Zombie (the West) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crack the Skye (CD & DVD) (Audio CD)

I, like many, wasn't sure what to expect from "Crack the Skye." Early reports described it as "spacey" and "creepy," with a classic rock feel, and the introduction of mainstream producer Brendan O'Brien raised further questions about the sound. Having heard the album, I can say that the change is fundamental: "Crack the Skye" is a metallic prog album, whereas Mastodon had previously been a metal band first and foremost, though one with progressive and technical tendencies. Fortunately, the album is not entirely lacking in the old Mastodon feel, with guitarwork and drumming that should be easily recognizable for any serious fan. The basic songwriting, however, is radically different. Whereas earlier works were primarily horizontal, emphasizing the progression through various sections, "Crack the Skye" is much more spacious and vertical, with densely layered arrangements of guitars (sludgy power chords, acoustic arpeggios, frantic leads often all at once) atop synths and unconventional percussion to aid the conventional rhythm section. Perhaps most significantly, the vox, originally barked and howled, are now almost entirely ethereal, gliding melodies at the center of the instrumental maelstrom. The feel is finally different: while "Blood Mountain" and "Remission" charged over the listener, "Crack the Skye" engulfs him. Because of this, nothing on "Crack the Skye" has the sheer visceral power of "Workhorse," "Blood and Thunder" or "Capillarian Crest," and those, like myself, who are primarily metal fans may not find the change totally ideal. Personally, though I can't permanently rank it after only 15 or so listens, I seriously doubt I will ever like "Crack the Skye" as much as I do their previous three albums. This, however, speaks more to the excellence of those albums than to any weakness on this album's part. On one level, this makes "Crack the Skye" even more impressive: while Mastodon have deemphasized much of what drew me to them initially, they've still crafted a terrific album that is sure to be amongst the year's best, and which further secures their position as the metal band of the 00s.

All that said, I was not overly impressed on my initial listen. This isn't surprising, as any dense album requires many listens to appreciate, but the relative weakness of the opening tracks is also a cause. "Oblivion" and "Divinations" are the most straight forward songs found here, making them both accessible and not particular striking. They're solid, enjoyable songs, but, in spite of the elaborate production, amount to little more than an extended intro, a few riffs and vocal lines followed by a lead break. It's always wise to include a relatively straightforward track or two on a dense album like this, but they aren't as either ferocious or catchy as they ought to be. Here the more layered, less bruising production holds the album back, but the only other option would be to make these songs sound radically different from the others, an unwise stylistic choice.

Fortunately, from "Quintessence" on the album is terrific. Here the dynamic range is opened dramatically, with quick alterations between spidery licks, ghostly acoustics, and knotty, pounding riffage. Even better is "Ghost of Karelia," which ratchets up the eerie eastern feel and adds rapid-fire time changes, while the title track creates a droning space-sludge atmosphere where the simple vocal melodies and piercing leads occasionally rise above the mass of sound. None of these three songs was especially striking initially, partially because they are so organically structured, but after a few listens the plain melodies insinuated themselves, and the dense arrangements are more fully revealed. These are great songs, and I've no doubt I'll come to like them more.

Interestingly enough, the epics are actually the most immediately memorable songs. They are quite distinct: "The Czar" is probably my favorite track, with repetitive, instantly memorable vocal melodies paired with a driving, groovy middle break. Conversely, "The Last Baron" is the most conventionally Mastodon-style track despite the extreme length, with a brutally intense tech-metal middle break that reminds greatly of "Blood Mountain" and is highlighted by Dailor's frenetic, fill-heavy drumming. (Which, somewhat sadly, is generally deemphasized here.) These tracks draw attention to themselves in a way that the others do not, but not so much that they seem out of place. They are meant to be the centerpieces of the album, and fulfill this role beautifully.

As good as the individual tracks are, "Crack the Skye" is better than the sum of its parts, largely because it is a concept album, which naturally seem more grandiose than conventional works when executed properly. The plot, a rather peculiar tale of astral projection, occult rituals and WWI-era Russia, doesn't interest me much (though at least it isn't so stupid as to detract from the album [Operation: Mindcrime, anyone?]), but it does manage a level of unity rare in the genre, and lacks the fat and senseless pyrotechnics that mar many prog metal albums. "Crack the Skye" is a concept album, but it never feels as though it has artificially been transformed into one, if you catch my meaning.

I will be curious to see where Mastodon go from here. They've already achieved a level of popularity far higher than I would've thought possible when I first heard "Remission," and considering the surprising resurgence in prog, Mastodon may continue to rise. Again, part of me would prefer that they head back into more metallic arenas, but "Crack the Skye" is so good a first attempt that it's conceivable that they could surpass those earlier works later in this new style. Whatever they do, I will look forward to it eagerly.

Check it out.