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 From the entire new wave of American metal, elitists and 'pundits' alike would probably pip Mastodon as being the one most deserving of the hype. The Atlanta quartet have gone from strength to strength, evolving from a ferocious beast to a majestic colossus, capable of both brute force and subtlety. As a result, they do seem to be showing their sensitive side a little more often these days, and while that usually spells the deathknell for heavy metal bands, it's just possible that these guys may be exempt from the curse.The evidence presents itself early on. Mastodon had always believed in delivering a sonic battering to the listener right from the get-go, leaving the mellow parts for the midsection. This time, the opener Oblivion is fairly restrained in comparison - Brann Dailor in particular is not up to his trademark exuberant performance behind the drums, and is seemingly content to (gasp!) hold down the groove instead. Not that there's anything wrong with his ballistic tendencies, but this current feel doesn't go down all that badly either. Also, Brent Hinds is fully clean on vocals and going for some Scott Weiland-type sound, harmonised choruses et al. In general, they seem to be moving away from the rougher parts of their repertoire, like the sludgy sound, the angular riffing and the crazy rhythms. Good news is that they're beefing up other parts - check out the great guitar solo midsection for proof. Sinister and epic all at the same time.
Divinations brings the template closer to traditional Mastodon fare, the riffing and vocals with some of their characteristic edge back. Until the chorus, that is - that almost feels emo in comparison. Even Quintessence comes off a bit emo-wailer like The Mars Volta. Of course, Hinds' voice isn't as whiny as Cedric's, but that's not due to lack of trying. Just so there's no misunderstanding, these are actually damn good songs overall, with a lot of great dynamics; it's just the change of style that throws you for a loop.
Then we get to the centre piece of the album. The Czar takes what older songs like Sleeping Giant and Hearts Alive had started and molds it further, starting with a moody psychedelic section that takes its sweet time building it up till it finally breaks out into a great uptempo midsection, boasting some excellent riffage that manages to sound both chunky and fluid at the same time. Definitely one of my high points in the entire venture.
Ghost of Karelia begins with a guitar lick that seems borrowed from the delay-laden midsection of Schism, but quickly goes on to build something entirely different. Both this and the title track have elements of their old as well as new sound, making an interesting sludge-prog hybrid. Finally, The Last Baron goes for another lengthy epic, weaving through a bunch of different themes and tempos. For the most part it's a success, and is probably the only song that sees them cut loose back to their berserk attitude of yore. However, while all the individual parts are kickass, some of the transitions don't dovetail very neatly and make it sound a little rushed.
This new sound is probably going to endear itself less to the sludge fans than prog aficionados. Far be it from me to complain, since I'm more of a proghead myself. In my defense, this is great music no matter what label it comes under. And while many would say the band is on thin ice with the direction they're heading right now, they're practically figure skating over it, so let's hope they can get in some more praiseworthy performances before the cracks start showing.
Label: Reprise Records
Year of release: 2009
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Discuss (32 posts)
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Re:Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Mar 23 2009 11:44:56 After the first listen, I think the music is killer no doubt, but can't say the same about the production, especially the drums. Some of the vocal lines enter the cheese territory and remind me of those modern day Ozzy ballads.
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#10586 |
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Re:Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Mar 23 2009 12:51:07 Yeah, they used some big time corporate rock producer who took time time out between Bruce Springsteen albums to produce this one but overall I'm liking everything about this album.
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#10589 |
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Re:Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Mar 23 2009 15:55:49 Goddamn! My favourite release of the year so far - the songwriting is somewhere else. And well, if they're on the road to wussing out, at least they're doing it with a lot more panache than most bands. Strains of Schism in Queen of Karelia - heehee!
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#10596 |
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Re:Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Mar 26 2009 01:21:58 Drumming has taken a backseat but still a damn fine album.
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#10707 |
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Re:Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Mar 30 2009 23:38:39 ^^ I still like Blood Mountain the best. This one is a bit less stoner friendly, the drums are too soft and there are no hooks that I can really sink my teeth into.
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#10838 |
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Re:Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Apr 01 2009 20:42:51 Still enjoying this album. Does anyone else think that Quintessence could be passed off as a torche song? For some reason it reminds me alot of something of their s/t
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#10915 |
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Re:Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Apr 12 2009 22:26:03 Maybe half a thadiyan less but you pretty much hit the nail on the head. Great album and very well put review.
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#11137 |
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Re:Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Apr 16 2009 07:32:39 Good review. I've written a review for this album too, check it out on my brand new blog, symphony21.blogspot.com
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#11298 |
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Re:Mastodon - Crack the Skye
May 11 2009 09:10:02 I've finally spent a little quality time with this album.
The guitar business is about as intricate and absorbing as I'd wanted, mostly, but there is a definite loss of intensity in the vocal and drumming departments. The clean vocals mostly work except for the occasional modern emo-influenced rock ballad moments and a certain tendency to sound like Ozzy at his whiniest. All in all very good, but like Ravi I feat their next release. In many ways, on purpose or not, this album is at just the right levels of heaviness, quirk and supposed profundity of subject matter to win over Tool fans who are disgruntled with their lot. |
#11908 |
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Re:Mastodon - Crack the Skye
May 16 2009 10:46:44 Hearing this on CD end to end for the first time. Fuck, it's tremendous. Plus the added clarity helps you hear the bongos and lots of other shit that got buried. Also read an interview in Metal Hammer where the band name drops Yes and King Crimson and does the "really not metal" bit.
"I don't think we are a heavy metal band. I don't even listen to heavy metal. We are art rock." - Brent Hinds "This is an album I wouldn't be embarrassed to play to Jimmy Page"- Brann Dailor Quotes like this always set the alarm bells ringing. I'd have been more reassured if he'd said Jeff Beck since Page other than Outrider and a few rare moments on Walking into Clarksdale has been sitting on his ass ever since the late 70s. Anyhow, I look forward to the next album with anticipation and dread, with dread having the upper hand. For the moment though there's enough on this album to tide over the wait however long it be. |
#12039 |
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Re:Mastodon - Crack the Skye
May 18 2009 00:46:27 This one just keeps getting better and better the more I play it. A definite contender for album of the year.
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#12064 |
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Re:Mastodon - Crack the Skye
May 18 2009 09:42:47 HathyaSaiBaba wrote:
"I don't think we are a heavy metal band. I don't even listen to heavy metal. We are art rock." - Brent Hinds Queensryche all over again. |
#12069 |
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Re:Mastodon - Crack the Skye
May 18 2009 11:43:10 If only they knew art-rock was keyboard-oriented.
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#12073 |
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Re:Mastodon - Crack the Skye
May 18 2009 11:49:47 Hinds is known to fuck around during interviews. Pinch of salt etc.
Btw, my thoughts about a lot of work put on recording these vocal lines seem right. I know they're not the best singers and here's the latest proof. This band would be a lot better as all-instrumental. |
#12075 |
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Re:Mastodon - Crack the Skye
May 18 2009 17:42:54 Ouch that was bad. The album sounds awesome just instrumental as well, but im not sure bout the previous albums. I still like the vocals on crack the skye, gives a nice feel to the album. But this performance was bad, troy was totally off.
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#12081 |
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Re:Mastodon - Crack the Skye
May 19 2009 01:41:11 Yeah, that performance was quite bad. But they're big enough to go on Letterman ? Either that or I'm quite out of touch with how kvlt Letterman actually is, I've always thought of him as a total douche.
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#12085 |
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Re:Mastodon - Crack the Skye
May 19 2009 20:30:11 Funny here and there (especially the intro), even if it wasn't up to SA's usually stellar standards. I didn't agree with any one of the numerous opinions on display, either.
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#12094 |
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Re:Mastodon - Crack the Skye
May 19 2009 22:57:51 Yeah this garbage day guy is nowhere up to the standards of Dr David Thorpe
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#12097 |
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Re:Mastodon - Crack the Skye
May 20 2009 11:47:14 Does anyone else keep singing the album title out to the tune of Helloween's 'Ride The Sky'?
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#12107 |
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Re:Mastodon - Crack the Skye
May 20 2009 13:14:06 No, but I sing the Stormbringer chorus. Wait, that's the same thing.
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#12108 |
