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Rating: Mastodon seems to manage to bring together early metalheads and those who seek freshness and novelty in this music rather than tired clichés, as well as those who had distanced themselves from this volcanic mass for a while.
After albums that mixed various sounds thrown into a diabolical cauldron blending thrash, heavy, prog, stoner, sludge, psychedelic, they released "Crack The Skye" in 2009, a work marking a more melodic turn in their sound, as well as an ambitious piece where roughness is smoothed by new arrangements leaning more towards progressive with psychedelic diversions.
It emerges as an enticing dish that needs to be cooled and savored slowly.
"Divinations" is the only one that recalls the old sound with Brend Hinds' guitar turning into a little machine gun before the sulfurous chorus brings about a false peace that reeks of confusion and alienation.Middle Eastern suggestions come from "The Ghost Of Karelia" (the first minute and a half is worth framing, a bridge between us and the rest of the universe, not forgetting the gratifying final instrumental outbursts) which catapults us into another world.
But actually, all should be mentioned from the opening "Oblivion," which kicks off with a guitar as menacing as an overcast sky on a winter evening, before melting into a seductive chorus that takes us back in time, to the two most prog moments (not the Dream Theater-style prog...) of "The Czar" (divided into four acts) and the final and splendid 13 minutes of "The Last Baron" that certainly do not feel as lengthy, indeed you hope it doesn't end soon, without forgetting the accelerations of "Quintessence" and the clear (Sanders) and dark (Scott Kelly of Neurosis) fill in two the title track "Crack The Skye."A special mention goes to the truly intriguing and evocative cover at least as much as the music and words of the work (I will avoid the whole discourse about the concept behind it as it is already covered elsewhere, here suffice to say it deals with journeys and out-of-body experiences).
The screamed parts are greatly reduced, never have we heard Troy Sanders and Brent Hinds sing so sweetly and candidly for so long in the true sense of the word and in this manner. The result is an astonishing quality of melodies. Why did they ever keep these peculiarities hidden?We need more albums like this.
Wholeheartedly approved.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Divinations (03:38)
It’s gone away, It’s gone away
It’s gone for good
And the spirit’s shouting Karelia
A primitive child of brilliant light
Her magnet of wisdom is pulling
Pulling Faster, the fabric of time
No escape, binding spirits
No escape, trapped in time and space
A rapid descent as the wormhole is entered
The sin of calypsis surrounds me
The fire’s dancing in the silvery sea of breath
Black rune that directs me
summon the soul of the specter
No escape, binding spirits
No escape, trapped in time and space
Fire in the eye
Realm of mystic majesty
No escape, binding spirits
No escape, trapped in time and space
Fire in the eye
Realm of mystic majesty
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By joe strummer
Mastodon is a top-tier band, with crystal-clear talent, and above all, it’s a band that doesn’t hold back, doesn’t calculate for its own gain.
We are facing a possible benchmark for progressive metal.
By KB24
To me, this is a masterpiece. A masterpiece must know how to evoke emotions, must captivate, and must be practically perfect from every standpoint, and for me, this album is.
Crack The Skye represents, hopefully for now, the compositional apex of Mastodon.
