Crack the Skye

It would be disingenuous to refer to myself as anything more than a casual fan of Heavy Metal, but I believe I can appreciate good music regardless of genre. That being said, Crack the Skye by Mastodon is the type of album which can appeal to almost anyone who enjoys hard rock. Brann Dailor, the band's percussionist, stated Mastodon was going after a "creepy, classic-rock sounding record". The resulting tracks are an unrelenting flow of technically precise and deeply layered Metal musicianship, highlighted by intricate solos seemlessly interwoven with stock progressive riffs.

The album begins with "Oblivion", a song with a prelude of gradually escalating guitar jousts building to an ignition of pain-filled vocal wailings during a rare vocal turn from Dailor. Next is "Divinations" a speedy, comparatively short rocker that begins eerily with a banjo in a possible homage to Deliverance by the Atlanta-based foursome. "Quintessence" is the most mainstream track on the album with alternating guitar blasts surrounding Brent Hinds' Ozzy Osbourne-esque vocals. For the true die-hard Metal fan, the title track "Crack the Skye" delivers the classic sludge riffs and growling, demonic vocals that have so often characterized Heavy Metal.

The magnum opus of Crack the Skye is the 13-minute epic "The Last Baron", christened in the first minute by Hinds' declaration, "I guess they would say, we could set this world ablaze". The song burns through three minutes of steady rock, before evolving via a rapid-fire barrage of percussion segueing into a jagged back-and-forth ambush of dueling guitar chords. Another blowout transition occurs at the eight-minute mark, followed by one final melt-your-face-off solo that caps off this monster of a track.

Overall, Crack the Skye is a very steady and intriguing rock album. I would still have to rank it behind Blood Mountain, as I feel the latter is still their best work to date. Nonetheless, this latest effort is more universally appealing than their previous recordings, and quite possibly has the most musical and lyrical depth. If you're curious about Heavy Metal, you should definitely give Mastodon a listen. And if you happen to be in Omaha on May 15th, you can see them rock the Midwest at Sokol Auditorium for only $25.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5