Artist: MASTODON
Album: CRACK THE SKYE VINYL (LP BLACK)

Release date: 2009
EAN/UPS: 0093624979098
Media type: LP

Atlanta's Mastodon climbed to the top of the metal heap the old-fashioned way. Taking the template for success etched by Metallica, the band captured the imagination with a series of albums that offered potent heaviness and relentless experimentation. ... Full DescriptionAfter graduating from respected indie Relapse, they released 2006's acclaimed BLOOD MOUNTAIN, an album with a fire motif/fantasy adventure concept that opened numerous doors both commercially and critically. Their latest, CRACK THE SKYE, completes their elemental cycle by focusing on "ether," while also serving as a tale of czarist Russia. The progressive metal elements that bled into their sound on BLOOD MOUNTAIN are pushed even further here, led once more by Brann Dailor's furiously technical drumming. As Dailor goes, so goes the band, and his stick work remains some of the finest this side of Neil Peart. The crackling "Divinations" follows up the contemplative, restrained "Oblivion" with furious thrash riffs and springy dueling fretwork, and "Quintessence" wraps glittering guitar arpeggios around Dailor's impossibly percolating drums. The four-part "The Czar" is a towering epic that comes off like Rush on steroids, each part with its own distinct feel. A more mature and adventurous metal album is unlikely to be heard for a long time.

SIDE ONE:

01. Oblivion
02. Divinations
03. Quintessence
04. The Czar
(I) Usurper
(II) Escape
(III) Martyr
(IV) Spiral

SIDE TWO:

05. Ghost of Karelia
06. Crack The Skye
07. The Last Baron

LINE-UP:

Troy Sanders – vocals, bass guitar
Brent Hinds – guitar, vocals
Bill Kelliher – guitar
Brann Dailor – drums, vocals
Rich Morris - Keyboards
Scott Kelly – vocals on "Crack the Skye"