Mastodon - Crack the Skye

Mastodon is one of the best metal bands out there these days. Their new work on Crack the Skye is no exception. The band is a smooth amalgamation of melodic clean and distorted guitar and bass lines backed by one of the hardest hitting drums around, and vocals that don’t overpower but blend perfectly with their surroundings.

“Oblivion” starts the journey, fittingly so with an intro that slowly fills in all the instrumentation and proceeds to birth eerie vocals that haunt and soothe simultaneously. “Quintessence” follows on the heals of the previous track with a piercing guitar intro, taken over right away by a quick and driving drum line that gives way to vocals that meld beautifully with the instrumental.
“The Czar” is a ten-minute epic progressive metal masterpiece that comes in four parts: I Usurper, II Escape, III Martyr, and IV Spiral. It opens up with an ominous keyboard piece and the beautiful keys continue to back the song throughout the duration of Usurper. The switch from Usurper to Escape is obvious at the tempo change several minutes in, where the song becomes very drum driven. The song again breaks into a slowing bit followed by a small guitar interlude, introducing Martyr and Spiral. These two parts seem to be closely intertwined rather than separate; there is no distinguishing tempo or instrumental variation to set them apart, not even the lyrics can lend a hand: “Spiraling up through the crack in the sky / leaving material world behind / I see your face in constellations / the martyr is ending his life for mine.” This part of the song does however sport several mind blowing guitar leads, magnificently backed by the rest of the band. The piece ends perfectly with all instrumental sound slowly disappearing into a bird’s song.
“Ghost of Karelia” showcases throughout the song how tightly the band can play together. The music is everywhere and all of the instrumental seems to flow together perfectly through rapid and erratic chord changes. The title track, “Crack the Skye” picks up on the end of the previous track’s ring out and starts anew with a more classic metal feel. It adds pounding double bass drumming into the mix along with deep growling vocals sung along side more harmonious ones on the upper register. “The Last Baron” is the longest track on the album weighing in at over thirteen minutes. The lyrics conjure a story of magic and pyromancy backed by the intense instrumentals: Faltering footsteps, dead end path / all that I need is this wise man’s staff / encased in crystal he leads the way / I guess they’d say we could set the world ablaze.”
“Oblivion” is the first totally instrumental track on the album. It puts the quick hard hitting drums at center stage, holding it all together for the heavy guitar and bass riffs throughout. “Divinations” is the second instrumental song on the album. A version with vocals however is also included. The strangest part of “Divinations” though is its use of the banjo. One might wonder how a banjo fits into a metal song; Mastodon makes it work, very well at that.