Well, I tried one thread on Saviours and got, oh, 0 replies. I *hate *that! 
Has anyone besides me gotten Mastodon’s latest, Crack the Skye? I have listened to it a couple of times and it is just amazing. They have more melodic vocals, not the cookie-monster stuff and the music is as great and riffy as Death Magnetic, but with more of a cohesiveness - it just doesn’t sound like one riff slamming into another (not that riffs are a bad thing, mind you).
And the drums - not only do they sound great (produced by Brendan O’Brien, who does Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots and tons others) but they sound, well, great. Sorry if folks disagree, but IMHO Lars Ulrich is a decent drummer at best - a bit too on beat, pretty simplistic in his riffage, but anchors Metallica just fine. But Brann Dailor of Mastodon is a freakin’ monster - just a thunderstorm of articulate, groove-y metal drumming throughout.
I believe that the album is built around a concept, but I am a few listens away from actually trying to get into the lyrics. But letting the music wash over is amazing…
Here is The Czaron YouTube - listening on a lousy soundsystem at low volume helps no one, but I wanted to at least include a clip…and about 4 minutes in, well, they just open a big can of whup-ass…
Since you asked, I’m really not loving Mastodon’s latest. I am absolutely mad for their previous two albums, but I feel like Crack the Skye is a major step down in terms of songwriting. My sense is that they perfected what they do on Blood Mountain and that they’re in a sophomore slump, focused on advancing their technique rather than following their artistic impulses. Or it could just be the brain hemorrhage.
No worries - I think Crack the Skye sounds different enough from Leviathan and Blood Mountain that it is not a given that if you like the first two, you’ll love this.
As for the hemorrage - I assume that refers to Brent Hinds’ hitting his head after getting hit by somebody…well, he is a raging alcoholic and so has his share of problems to begin with…but a really cool tattoo on his forehead!
See photo of him, Brann Dailor and The Boss here…
My favorite Mastodon song is Pendelous Skin, which didn’t sound much like their other songs on the album from what I remember. Are there any songs on Crack the Skye that I should check out, based on that info?
They put a lot more effort into the vocals on this album which does give the songs a bit different feel. I was kinda meh on the album at first, but after listening a few more times I really like this album a lot.
The Czar kicks ass.
I haven’t picked up the album yet but I would just for Brann Dailor’s drumming. I like their music too. The drums and vocals are what set them apart from bands in the next tier of metal such as Lamb of God. I think Skye was the name of Dailor’s sister who committed suicide if that has anything to do with the theme of the album.
Crack the Skye is not my favorite Mastodon album. I also doubt I’ll be listening to it much, so that opinion prolly won’t change.
Here’s why: I don’t want to listen to a 14 minute song over and over. I like the parts of the songs, but this is just a big sprawling prog rock wankfest. Give me a good 3 minute song that I will want to hear over and over and over until it’s just a part of my brain’s normal daily hum. Don’t take a quarter of an hour from me and leave me with a vague remembrance that I liked that one part of the song somewhere before the acoustic interlude, or right after the blickem-blickem drum part… I want riffs and I want those riffs hammered like something that really needs hammering ya know what i’m sayin?
I mean, yeah, the guitar work is tasty throughout, and the songs are all really well written and played and there’s lots of cool parts… but there’s stuff missing too. I didn’t think the drums were as slamming insane this time around, and there seems to be a lot less intensity overall. I blame the new producer. He’s not a metal guy; he’s an AoR guy, and I can hear it in the production and in the songwriting.
I didn’t care for the vocals on this album as much as I did on the last 2. I’ll take good growling over flat singing any day.
This album was made by guys who were trying to make something epic, not something that “fucking rocks”.
Mastodon will never make another Remission. I’ve accepted that, but I’m kinda lukewarm on the whole prog direction. Their biggest flaw remains the fact that they’re a band with no vocal identity whatsoever.
I thought Death Magnetic was surprisingly decent.
Oh, and Death Magnetic is not only a stupid title, it’s a horrible album of bad songs. There. I said it.
**Snowboarder Bo **- dude, you know what you like and that’s cool - I hear you on all of your comments and, frankly, agree. They are proggy, the songs are long, their vocal work, while more melodic vs. previous albums, doesn’t have the dominating presence you kinda hope it would. And the sound is intense, but in a bit more of an AOR way vs. overloaded metal. In many ways, due to the top-notch production, it sounds better, but it doesn’t have some of the signature metal production values folks come to expect.
But it is what it is - and while I am not a prog guy and kneel at the feet of the perfect 3-minute guitar-driven rock/pop song, I dig the album. As you say, the songs are well written and there is tasty guitar throughout.
HoboStew: I am sorry, man, I don’t know the names of Mastodon songs - I curse the world of mp3’s - I used to memorize albums and liner notes. Anyway, check out the link to The Czar above - when you have a chance listen to it all the way through (per Bo, it’s about 11 minutes! ) - see what you think; it is pretty representative of the album…
