Crack the skye

[Matt White]

the new MASTODON cd CRACK THE SKYE is scheduled to be released on the 24th....

1. "Oblivion" – 5:46
2. "Divinations" – 3:32
3. "Quintessence" – 6:35
4. "The Czar" – 9:46
1. "Usurper"
2. "Escape"
3. "Martyr"
4. "Spiral"
5. "Ghost of Karelia" – 5:24
6. "Crack the Skye" – 5:54
7. "The Last Baron" – 13:03

I've heard everything except "The Last Baron".....

I think this one will break them...in a good way...

I think Brendan O'Brien did a GRATE job of getting them out of their "comfort zone"...the cd sounds amazingly good...

[Mr Walker]

I remember quite liking 'Blood Mountain' last year...
I'll be picking this up either today or Friday (whenever I can sneak out of here for a while).
I watched the video for 'Divinations' this morning (you can watch it here MASTODON OFFICIAL WEBSITE - Crack The Skye (http://www.mastodonrocks.com/) ).
Pretty wild... cavemen, cannibalism, life giving flying V's, the abominable snowman?

I'm not a hardcore Mastodon fan, but I have a feeling that this will be the type of album that their fanbase will declare a sellout.

In case you were wondering if there was a theme to 'Crack The Skye'...

“ There is a paraplegic and the only way that he can go anywhere is if he astral travels. He goes out of his body, into outer space and a bit like Icarus, he goes too close to the sun, burning off the golden umbilical cord that is attached to his solar plexus. So he is in outer space and he is lost, he gets sucked into a wormhole, he ends up in the spirit realm and he talks to spirits telling them that he is not really dead. So they send him to the Russian cult, they use him in a divination and they find out his problem. They decide they are going to help him. They put his soul inside Rasputin's body. Rasputin goes to usurp the czar and he is murdered. The two souls fly out of Rasputin's body through the crack in the sky(e) and Rasputin is the wise man that is trying to lead the child home to his body because his parents have discovered him by now and think that he is dead. Rasputin needs to get him back into his body before it's too late. But they end up running into the Devil along the way and the Devil tries to steal their souls and bring them down…there are some obstacles along the way.”

Might try to find this one on vinyl... looks like it may need a concerted listening effort.

[binnie]

The theme doesn't really matter with Mastodon albums - you can enjoy them regardless.

I haven't fully digested this record yet, but on the first 3 listens I'd say that it blows me away. Just like the rest of their stuff, there is no-one that has ever sounded like them. The main difference this time is that the mix is more crisp, and the vocals are more clear.

As much prog as metal, this is pushing the boundaries of heavy music. Not easy, not anthemic, and not 'hooky' by any stretch of the imagination - but if you're open minded and enjoy genuinely original music packed with outstanding musicianship and riffs that will melt granite, this is for you.

[Seshmeister]

As much prog as metal, this is pushing the boundaries of heavy music.

Sounds like it's pushing the boundaries of good taste... :)

[Matt White]

Hmmmmm....I knew I had seen this thread somewhere.....

I did manage to get the entire cd....

I'll be purchasing the cd later today.....don't need the swag that they're offering their fans on their website...though it is cool of them

Yup...BEST METAL record I've heard i quite sometime...

They've moved to the front of the pack as far as I'm concerned

[Mr Walker]

Sorry bro!
I should have searched beyond the first page.
My bad!

[Matt White]

NO problem MR W....somebody'll merge the 2 threads soon enough....

I'm bowled over on how good CRACK THE SKYE is....honestly...its MASTER OF PUPPETS good....

It should make these guys STARS......

[Mr Walker]

NO problem MR W....somebody'll merge the 2 threads soon enough....

I'm bowled over on how good CRACK THE SKYE is....honestly...its MASTER OF PUPPETS good....

It should make these guys STARS......

I just got back to work with it and am about half way through it... the first thought that struck me a few songs in is this sounds like the Black Sabbath album I hoped to hear when Ozzy & Tony reunited.

[yomaster]

Sounds funny. I think I'll check it out. Thanks Walker.

Where is fishfuck these days? He totally dissed me.

[Mr Walker]

Sounds funny. I think I'll check it out. Thanks Walker.

Where is fishfuck these days? He totally dissed me.

Putting his real life (and Mean Machine) back together.

[Seshmeister]

Because of this thread I've just been listening to this band for the first time(Blood Mountain).

It's different, some good bits.

I'm not a fan of the shouty thrash singing thing though. When he's not doing that sometimes he reminds me of early Ozzy.

If the new one is a 'sellout' I'll probably like it.

[katie]

Sounds like two drunken sailors shouting at each other.

[degüello]

Just downloaded CTS and BM, gonna go check them out with my new full-size headphones right now.

Thanks for the thread, Walker. I'd never heard of these guys.

[Panamark]

merged the two for viewing pleasure..

[Mr Walker]

According to BestBuy the vinyl version will be released in May...
Here's the one I'm grabbing
Deluxe Edition on two 180 Gram vinyl 45 RPM LP's in a Stoughton gatefold jacket with 7" single (featuring album track "Oblivion" and a "Borderline" a ZZ Top cover performed with Billy Gibbons).

[Matt White]

I'm not a fan of the shouty thrash singing thing though. When he's not doing that sometimes he reminds me of early Ozzy..


That's what I thought the first time I heard "Colony of Birchmen" from BLOOD MOUNTAIN....

He sings like that a lot on the new disc...which is why I enjoy it...I HATE the "cookie-monster" vocals.....

And this disc seems to have a lot of "hippy-ish" moments...as if they were moving in a more "classic rock" vein....

[binnie]

I don't mind the cookie monster things if they're done in a interesting way (Phil Anselmo, Corey Taylor, Burton C Bell, Max Caverlera).

The vocals on this record are definitely cleaner, and more prominent in the mix.

'Leviathon' is my favourite record of theirs, but to be fair they have released nothing but staggering records so far. They are doing what Tool did 10 years ago, so far outta left field...

[Seshmeister]

Maybe it's an age thing... :)

[WACF]

Just heard Oblivion on Sat radio...I like it.

I'll have to check them out.

They are playing a small club here soon...might be worth checking out.

[degüello]

Just heard Oblivion on Sat radio...I like it.

I'll have to check them out.

They are playing a small club here soon...might be worth checking out.

Yeah, I just checked out the ticket situation for the May Toronto show (Opera House), seems it's sold out?

It's not saying "sold out," but it's saying "no exact matches found..."

It does say that sometimes more tickets become available closer to the date of the event...

Shitty... that would've been fun.

[degüello]

I listened to the first 3 songs or so on CTS. Great guitar parts, lots of of sonic fun with the headphone experience, and a very unique, creative sound and approach. Seems like something special and fresh.

At times I found the vocals a bit too emo-sounding, if that's the way to describe it, may take some getting used to.

Really enjoyed a lot of the moody chord ideas and heavy detuned riffing!

[degüello]

The Toronto show doesn't say "sold out" on the actual Mastadon site... hmmm.

[degüello]

.. and a "Borderline" a ZZ Top cover performed with Billy Gibbons).[/I]

Cool!

But I don't know of any ZZ tune called "Borderline?"

[degüello]

Seems they may have mixed this up.

Mastodon has recorded a cover of "Just Got Paid" with the might Reverend Willy G helping out (http://pitchfork.com/news/34383-lips-do-madonna-mastodon-do-zz-top-for-warner/).

While the Flaming Lips have recently covered Madonna's "Borderline."

[degüello]

I could just chat with myself all night about these guys... LOL :D

[SparkieD]

This is the best album I've heard in fucking ages!

Brent Hinds sounds like a mix of Udo and King Diamond.

[Matt White]

I agree with you Sparkie...it really knocked me out

[degüello]

One comment/complaint about O'Brien's production on this album is that it often seems too layered and dense.

To me, it robs some sections of their potential crunch and loses a lot of the heaviness that a more sparse, in-your-face approach would deliver (ie Rage, new Metallica).

The drums and rhythm guitars especially are often buried in layers and layers of sonic mush, losing a great deal of their punch and sounding vague and somewhat veiled. It often sounds like there's just too much going on and everything loses impact as result, particularly drums and guitar.

Seems it's closer, aurally, to O'Brien's recent work with Springsteen (great songs but again, mushy, distant-sounding, over-layered production), than his earlier work with Pearl Jam and bands of that ilk.

I was initially excited to see O'Brien associated with this album, before I'd even heard it, as I associate him with great, loud, in-your-face guitar-rock production, however the approach here seems completely different than what I was hoping for, much of the time.

[degüello]

However, that being said, I've still been playing the heck out it of the past few days.

Have hardly been listening to anything else. The album kind of sucks you in and doesn't let go, and doesn't allow you to stray towards any other listening material... :)

[degüello]

Also, the above-mentioned complaints are far more evident when listening through a home stereo. Through a good set of cans, it all sounds pretty amazing.

[Seshmeister]

With the huge use of Ipods and other mp3 players I guess that a hell of a lot of music listening is now done through headphones.

I wonder if producers work with that in mind nowadays?

[degüello]

With the huge use of Ipods and other mp3 players I guess that a hell of a lot of music listening is now done through headphones.

I wonder if producers work with that in mind nowadays?

That's a really good point and a good question. I hadn't thought of that at all.

I read a Rolling Stone article where they asked Spielberg if he thought directors would be making movies with 2 inch screens in mind, due to the influx of portable media players and the potential for people to mainly be seeing their movies on them in the future, he said he thought it would take a while.

But the mixing-for-headphones thing seems far more likely...

[degüello]

There's shades of classic King's X at times, on this album. Also reminds me a bit of Mindcrime-era Queensryche, here and there.

[degüello]

Man, I just keep digging this album more and more.

[Matt White]

Same here Degüello...

I have a copy in the car....and haven't changed it in over a week...it's good driving music....

[ODShowtime]

I feel like I'm stuck in a wormhole, I actually found out about this record from their MTV video on Headbangers ball! I got a wild hair up my ass to DVR HBB last weekend and this video blew me away.

The record is pretty good. The best records usually take a little while to absorb as is the case with this one.

There are some serious guitar solos going on. Seems like the guy is very technical, but he allows his technique to be overcome by emotion when the song needs it. Even the best technical players need emotion to craft truly great passages.

I don't know, I think this record is pretty bad ass. Definitely the best record of the year so far, which isn't saying much.

[binnie]

Every time I see 'em live, it's the drumming that astounds me....

[SparkieD]

Every time I see 'em live, it's the drumming that astounds me....

That drummer is fucking amazing!

[Golden AWe]

This is a fucking amazing album. I've loved the past albums as well, but this is GRATE!

"The Czar", listened along with "Quintessence" is so far the best song, along with "Oblivion" and "Crack the Skye".

I saw them live with Slayer a few months ago. The mixing of the gig went wrong, and they missed their second guitar player, so it was far from a perfect gig, but they still kicked arse.

Gotta larve MASTODON!!!

[degüello]

..."The Czar", listened along with "Quintessence" is so far the best song, along with "Oblivion" and "Crack the Skye"...

Yeah, "The Czar" is fucking great; that's the first one that really hooked me. Love the Hammond intro and slow, moody groove of the first section, and then the heavy part just fucking KILLS me, can't get enough of it. The guitars are killer and his voice sounds wicked.

Also really like "Divinations" - great shit!

I agree re. the album being a 'grower,' it gets better with every listen.

Fucking wish I could get some Toronto tickets...

[degüello]

Same here Degüello...

I have a copy in the car....and haven't changed it in over a week...it's good driving music....

Yeah, I've been blasting it in my headphones all over the house, doing the garbage, fixing shit, it's always on.

Need to burn a CD for the car, too.

[ELVIS]

Maybe it's an age thing... :)

Nah, that hollaring vocal shit will continue to fade or change into a more refined style...

Some of those bits you mentioned do remind a fan of early Ozzy...

A little bit of that yelling goes a long way, and it's silly when you see it live, because it's all done with effects and you can hear plainly that the singer isn't "singing" what you are hearing...

The only band with a cool yell type vocal is Slayer...

You can hear every word he's saying and he's intense as hell!

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:elvis:

[Golden AWe]

Fuck, I have to mention this again: this is likely going to be the album of the year.

MASTODON is doing something only few bands can - inventing new stuff on rock and metal.

I'd say I've heard shite this good only from OPETH during the recent years.

BUY THIS ALBUM.

PS. Elvis, there's three guys singing on this album. All of the vocals are NOT edited with that hollaring vocal.

[degüello]

Fuck - the Toronto small club show is definitely sold out. Tickets are going for $100-$300 online... I'd love to go, but not for that much.

[degüello]

Looks like the singer got his ass kicked by System Of A Down? (http://www.chartattack.com/news/44474/mastodons-brent-hinds-was-injured-in-fight-with-system-of-a-down-bassist)

[Mr Walker]

Mastodon Eying 'Crack The Skye' Movie (http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/mastodon-eying-crack-the-skye-movie-1003969251.story)

A film adaptation of Mastodon's latest album, "Crack the Skye," is well within the realm of possibility -- albeit not in production yet.

Drummer and lyricist Brann Dailor tells Billboard.com that the heavy rocking Atlanta quartet sat down with a film director, who he declines to name, and "wrote out a screenplay that reads from song to song. We didn't storyboard it, but we wrote a screenplay." Three different directors, he adds, have expressed interest in taking on the project.

"That'd be killer if it actually happens," Dailor says. "That's something that's cool about making concept records, that opportunity for more to be done, artistically. If you just had an album with a bunch of songs that didn't have anything to do with each other and there was no common thread, that aspect of the art wouldn't be there. But with ('Crack the Skye'), we have that possibility."

"Crack the Skye's" seven songs, produced by Brendan O'Brien, weave together a conceptual story involving a quadriplegic, astral travel, Stephen Hawking's theories on wormholes and the philosophies of Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin. "I think it's definitely the closest we've come to a fully cohesive story from start to finish," Dailor says.

The primary challenge to turning it into a film, he says, will likely be financing.

"It all comes down to money," Dailor acknowledges. "We don't want to half-ass it; we want to make it real and...awesome. But we're in a time period where labels are doing significantly less, moneywise, or trying to cut back, and making movies isn't exactly cutting corners. It's hard for an A&R guy to go to whoever writes the checks and be like, 'Yeah, this band that sells 150,000 records wants to make a million-dollar movie...' But we're not ruling it out yet."

For the meantime, Mastodon and its fans will have to make do with the group's live recitations of "Crack the Skye," which the group is performing in its entirety on its current tour.

"I know it's kind of a new trend that bands are breaking out their 'masterpieces' to play, but we weren't paying attention to that," Dailor says. "There wasn't any conversation like, 'Oh, we're only going to play a few songs off the record.' We don't feel like there's a weak link in the record, though I'm sure other people would disagree. It just feels right to play the whole thing, front to back."

[Golden AWe]

"Crack the Skye's" seven songs, produced by Brendan O'Brien, weave together a conceptual story involving a quadriplegic, astral travel, Stephen Hawking's theories on wormholes and the philosophies of Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin. "I think it's definitely the closest we've come to a fully cohesive story from start to finish," Dailor says.

Or..."Hunter S. Thompson on 'shrooms goes metal"

Grate news anyway! GRATE ALBUM!

[houseofpain]

I dig this album. I bought it on itunes, and bougt the deluxe edition. I got the scores of the songs too. I guess that means I can Karaoke them if I like...

[binnie]

Fuck, I have to mention this again: this is likely going to be the album of the year.

MASTODON is doing something only few bands can - inventing new stuff on rock and metal.

I'd say I've heard shite this good only from OPETH during the recent years.

BUY THIS ALBUM.

PS. Elvis, there's three guys singing on this album. All of the vocals are NOT edited with that hollaring vocal.

Best post in this thread - pretty much sums it all up.

Mastodon, like Tool 10 years ago, are pushing forward the boundaries of the music that we know and love. Gojira are well worth checking out too - much more obviously metallic but - like Messhuggah - they take the ultra-heavy side of metal forward just when you think it was about to descend into the generic.

[houseofpain]

Best post in this thread - pretty much sums it all up.

Mastodon, like Tool 10 years ago, are pushing forward the boundaries of the music that we know and love. Gojira are well worth checking out too - much more obviously metallic but - like Messhuggah - they take the ultra-heavy side of metal forward just when you think it was about to descend into the generic.

Pretty much agree with you here bro...

[rustoffa]

They're fixin' to play on Letterman....

[Golden AWe]

I like the older Mastodon albums as well but now it's starting to sound more and more like "theme albums"...which is KEWL!!!