Until two weeks ago I knew/heard nothing by Mastodon. I read an article in Rolling Stone, spoke with a friend of mine and found this album at Target for under $10. On a whim, I picked it up and spent one whole Saturday listening to it. I may listen to plenty of jazz and alt-rock, but I am a metal-head at heart, and this album awakened the sleeping beast.
With only seven tracks, two stretching over 10 minutes, I was completely impressed by this record. It was reminiscent of Tool and early Metallica and found that it played very well on my car’s stereo. Lead track, “Oblivion”, pulls the audience right in while follow up tracks, “Divinations” and “Quintessence”, offer up brutal metal assaults. “The Czar” is a story played in four distinct parts, “Ghosts of Karelia” and “Crack the Skye” are more melodic and ranging. Closer, “The Last Baron”, will have you swirling your head for 13 solid minutes of metal pleasure. Produced by Brendan O’Brien, who has worked with Springsteen, Dylan, Pearl Jam, and Rage Against the Machine, this was a big step for Mastodon to take, and many felt it would compromise their sound in the process. If anything, it may have helped it.
Like any good music journalist I went out and purchased earlier albums Leviathan and Blood Mountain to see how this new album stacked. Each of those albums proved to be satisfying listens, and I can say that Crack the Skye isn’t nearly as brutal as Leviathan, but it makes up for it with soaring vocals and striking guitar parts. This sounds like a step forward for Mastodon and should be embraced by all fans of music, even if metal isn’t your cup of tea. The musicianship alone is impressive on several levels.
