MASTODON’S CRACK THE SKYE: THE OFFICIAL METALSUCKS REVIEW
Monday, May 11th, 2009 at 3:00pm by Vince Neilstein
Better late than never. Because albums this good deserve to go on the record. Seeing as I’ve procrastinated on writing this piece for two months, let’s make it quick and snappy.
If you like Mastodon purely for the mosh, you will probably not be too crazy about Crack the Skye. If you like Mastodon because of their proggy, weird, bizarro nature you will really, really like Crack the Skye. Count me in the category of the latter. It’s the album they’ve been alluding to for their entire career, a masterwork by a band at the absolute top of their game, pushing the boundaries of metal and unafraid to experiment with music in ways that may alienate their core fan base. It’s a trippy, adventurous work — though without a doubt still quite heavy and distinctly Mastodonian — that ends up a full album’s album, not just because of the conceptual nature of the lyrics but because of the flow of the music. No one writes records this involved anymore. The production (courtesy of Brendan O’Brien, who for the most part appears to have let Mastodon do their own thang uninhibited) is world class, and the performances are next level, especially in the lead guitar department. Though for the most part I believe that music reviews should focus only on the music itself, it’s worth noting that the packaging and presentation of Crack the Skye are absolutely stellar, and it’s worth considering these aspects as part of the music itself because they underscore just how finely Mastodon pay attention to every last detail of everything they do. Crack the Skye is phenomenal start to finish, and in this humble blogger’s opinion it is Mastodon’s best, most musically developed record yet.
So, for only the second time in MetalSucks history:
(five out of five horns)
-VN
when will you review master of puppets?
The Devil Wears Prada was the first right?.. kidding. Seriously though, who got the first five devil horns?
I want to know too. I’ve been readin the site for a long time but I can’t recall another 5 horn.
I second this….
Protest the Hero’s “Fortress.”
Oh. And rightly so. That album was epic.
Don’t forget Resurrection and The Blackening, both got 5 stars as well
Didn’t you give Machine Head’s “The Blackening” and Black Sabbath’s “The Dio Years” 5 horns as well?
I think it was Genghis Tron – Board Up the House, if I’m not mistaken…
I lied; Board Up the House got 4.5. Don’t remember which other album got the full 5.
I want to have a psycadelic listening/disscustion party for this album. It is pure amazment and skill that goes into making such and an amazing peice of music, and to think, this is only album four. It can only get better from here.
I bet people said that after …And Justice For All too.
ha interesting funny point there. looking back i cant recall what i thought about where metallica was going after the justice tour in 1989 ? i saw metallica three times on the justice tour 88-89….20 freaking years ago yikes !!
GxTx deserved it. Mastodon deserves it more.
I can’t really hold it against you for writing so little about such an epic album, because honestly, what else is there to say? Massive excellence most epic.
Even people who wouldn’t normally lean to their end of the metal spectrum, or even listen to metal at all, dig the hell out of that band. They’re just ecumenical like that.
They’re still on my shit list for not scheduling more than one show in Colorado, so that more people could’ve have experienced the new album in the intimate setting of a small theater. Just saying.
Love and Rockets,
Shinaain
Don’t complain about only one Colorado show. Kentucky gets completely shafted.
Point taken, Jimmy. It boils down to….Neither of us got to see them. Shoot me now.
Try living in North Dakota and being a Metalhead, we NEVER get ANYTHING up here.
Although I did catch Cynic & Daath with Dragonfarce last month, that was cool.
knowing this site it was probably something by god forbid or chimaira. we know it couldn’t be isis…
Haha! You were close though: Protest the Hero.
I totally agree with every one of those five horns.
the first was protest the hero – fortress
Just checked, the other 5 horner was protest the hero (?!?!?!)
Im suprised it wasnt Gojira or God Forbid. I guess they just get their penises and balls repeatedly licked here, instead of five out of five reviews.
i don’t know who the other 5 pointers went to…but i’m glad u guys gave it to this album!! It has consumed me ever since I got my hands on it. It sounded awesome live too! I hope they come around real soon.
By the way who was the other 5 pointer??
I wasn’t that stoked on this album to begin with. But it grew on me, and now i think it is definitley on par with their heavier stuff. 5 horns for sure.
right on!
dunno
i really dug the album musicly and its a great peice of work
but after seeing them live at the fillmore the other night
it made me think
cuz even mastodon was acting different when they were playing CTS as opposed to their older stuff
the entire room changed everyone was different when they started playing their older stuff
when they played the new stuff (even the heavy parts) they just stood around with serious faces playing
but as soon as they started playing their older stuff the entire place became somehow more alive and animated, the band stopped looking so serious, brent started jumping around and swinging his guitar, bill started headbanging. it was like when i saw them last jan. at BMT with neurosis
i cant stop listening to it
i dont ever wanna stop listening to it
but somehow its not mastodon
The album is new, and they haven’t played the material as much, on top of the fact that it’s pretty difficult stuff. I think 6 months or a year down the road you’ll probably see a lot more live energy when they play these songs.
Oh, that was supposed to be my embedded photo of the show in question, which can be found here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/qxz/3518829094/
That was not the case in Williamsburg on sunday night. People were going crazy the whole night. What is even more crazy is they took I think one 4 minute break the whole show. Talk about endurance!
the crowd was goin crazy from the first note just the band wasnt
I’m glad this album received the 5 horns that it deserved. That being said, when the Best Of… for the year is released, is it going to be virtually forgotten, much like Fortress was? For being the only 5 horn album of 2008, and definitely one of the best, if my memory serves me correctly it was fairly low on the Best Of… lists, and I think I remember it not even appearing on certain lists.
Kevin, PTH was #2 on my year-end list for 2008. I was also the writer who reviewed it initially when it came out. There’s a lot of us here at the MS Mansion and we all have different tastes, so as much as I liked that album I certainly can’t mandate that Gary Suarez or anyone else put any record on their personal favorite lists.
Personally, I felt like Crack The Skye was solid, but I don’t think it’s a five-star album. Divinations was a killer song, but the rest didn’t stick with me as much as most of the songs from Blood Mountain or Leviathan.
I agree with 5/5. If only more bands could write albums like this…
There are a lot of 4.5s, which I would give this. It’s not perfect; I’m not sure there is such a thing besides BTBAM’s “Colors” and The Ocean’s “Precambrian”.
I agree with the review 100% this album is awesome from start to finish….
After i bought this CD i listened to it once all the way through…then twice..then three times…now im nearing on bout my 20th full listen on this opus of opuses. Im from the prog/psych school of though and though that this album flowed through better than the majority of what ive listened to. the plot (yes i said plot) is insane and makes this a great concept album. ive prob listened to “The Last Baron” 50+ times and it still has not yet hit my “overplayed” list. Pure and simple, “Crack The Skye” is my favorite album of ‘09 and i can safely say that even though its only may. Mastodon destroyed, game fuckin over.
Best album to come out since 05 when This Godless Endeavor was released. Definitely deserving of the 5 horns it got.
I seriously agree with this review. The haters can hate all day, they’re missing out on one of the best musical experiences of the past decade. They’re starting to remind me (just a hair) of Tool in terms of their experimentation and sheer unwillingness to do what’s expected of them
Totally agree. Their time opening for Maynard and Co. seems to have rubbed off just a bit.
well deserved 5/5.
after cracking the skye to actually puchase the cd, i was very disappointed in the meagre artwork. i was expecting a tool-level mind-blowing gallery, but the booklet is just one sheet with the four pictures theyve already pushed everywhere. i guess they saved the real art for the $40 deluxe pack.
spectacular album though. i love that i get to play it in my friends car because it reminds her of alice in chains.
I gotta agree with the rating on this one. I Liked Mastodon before this new album but I wasn’t one of the people calling Mastodon the second coming or anything. Crack the Skye is just fucking epic from start to finish. Not a bad second in any one of the songs. It’s absolutely stellar from beginning to end. Expertly crafted and masterfully produced, this one is already in my top albums of all time.
This review is bullshit.
I cant respect any fan of metal/hard rock that does not love this album. oh hell any fan of music for that matter.
I give it 7/5. extra credit and shit.
Mastodon = yawn. I honestly can’t see anything noteworthy about this band at all. I wish I did.
Wow.
i agree with yawn, on an initial hearing of their music, they might be one of those bands that you have to constantly listen to, to get into.
my problem is… i can never get that far listening to them, it just sounds like annoying holier than thou progressive bollox.
but i will still give it another listen. and see what happens.
probably nothing
Well they’re good, but nothing about their music really stands out. And I can’t stand the vocals.
Nothing stands out? Listen to the drums on Remission. Nobody has ever played drums like that, ever.
Agree
I absolutely love the album, but I gotta say, that cover is just atrocious. I like the artwork for the singles, but that thing just looks like an ugly mishmash of random shit. The starburst in the guy’s mouth looks terrible. Should have swapped it out for the Divinations cover.
I agree that the cover is awful and way too convoluted compared their their previous albums, but i must say that the Divinations artwork isn’t much better, and that they should have used the Oblivion artwork instead.
I just can’t image one person out there being unable to find something to like about this album. Its great. Only song I skip past though is #3, Quintessence or w/e.
skip a song? the whole album compliments its self. gotta go straight through
saw the epic performance in Tempe, AZ. Crowd surfed during the last baroooooooonnnnnn!!!!!!!!!
I really need to buy this. I don’t even know why I haven’t yet.
I really though Resurrection would have gotten a 5 star, well maybe at least if Axl had reviewed it. But I’m not going to do my research if Axl reviewed it or not and just make blind statements.
Actually you fuckers gave Machine Heads ‘The Blackening’ five as well:
http://www.metalsucks.net/2007/03/19/beautiful-mourning-machine-heads-the-blackening-is-their-best-album-yet/
And that was early 07, so it’s at least the third time.
The vocals blow. Period.
I agree with you guys for once: this album is beyond words. I especially like the addition of Brann on vocals, and i think his clean vocals are actually the best of the bunch. I kind of regret not getting the special edition when it was available, but i’ve also heard the CD/DVD combo isn’t worth the extra cash. I’m satisfied with the CD itself though, and the liner notes are tripped-out goodness.
the dvd is worth the extra.
def worth the extra
We all know that the Grammy’s are bullshit, but if they weren’t, this album/band would be a shoo-in in multiple categories.
You cant buy this amount of praise…wow..good for mastodon. But, I still like all thir other works over this one. Leviathin is the best to me, this one isnt bad, but not my fav…
In their past releases I really like the music but the vocals ruined it for me. This time its the other way around, I like the vocals but not the music. I just can’t win with this band.
wow not sure what to say man ? oh well its a free metal nation i guess.
Regardless they are talented musicians and deserve the praise bestowed on them by their fans.
not only do i agree i feel.
Iit took me a few listens to get it… but once i understood it there was no going back. Its definately a 5/5. i can’t name it my favorite metal album yet, but it could be. It’s epic and i love every song. the czar is probably my favorite. I wanted to see them play in nyc but lucky me both shows sold out and lamb of god was playing the same weekend anyway =/
Well said bro. the czar gives me a hard on. yeah i know im a freak.
you shouldve came anyways my freinds bught tickets from scalpers for under $100
the show was mind blowing
Yeah im pissed i missed the show. in august golden gate park should be pretty crazy.
This album is cool but I don’t think I have given it alot listens coz it is too painful. I mean, it did remind me of some bad times, and I had to focus on what felt harmonious or beautiful to get rid of the emotions this record brought to me. Maybe I’m alone on this.lol
Perhaps I just haven’t listened to it enough, but I just can’t get into Crack the Skye. I mean, it’s filled with clever arrangements, complex melodies and rhythms, ambitious vocal lines, maturity, intensity etc., blah, blah, blah. For whatever reason, I don’t care. It lacks something. It’s by no means terrible, just not the amazing aural experience I was informed it would be. I loved each of their previous albums, which all grew on me in no time. This one I’ve had for a few weeks, and I’m kind of bored with it. Repeated listens are not doing it for me. Going to go back to jamming Obscura and maybe revisit Mastadon later.
As far as I’m considered, Crack The Skye IS the album of the year in my opinion.
That song Oblivion sucks!!!
Is the best album of Mastodon! Es el mejor y se merece 5 puntos!
I’ve tried to listen to this so many times, I just cant do it. It honestly just bores me.
Speaking as a huge Mastodon fan: Crack The Skye fucking sucks. I don’t understand how anyone could enjoy this record. The songs have no momentum, no feeling, no anything. There are no contrasts in dynamics (thanks, digital compression!), and there aren’t any meter changes anymore, even thought that’s always been one of the things that made Mastodon Mastodon. I’ll stick to their first three records, thanks.
I agree with the review. It seems this is the most complex, mature and versatile record Mastodon had done so far. Less screams, more vocals, grat fills, and great solos too.
Oh wow, another glowing review for a terrible album. This website is a joke.
If any Mastodon album deserves a 5 star rating, it’s Leviathan.
Crack the Skye 10/10 for me. Leviathan is really good too Jackyl but this project is so much more epic in scope and the degree to which these dudes succeeded was amazing.