As heavy as MC Hammer’s pants and as powerful as Muhammad Ali’s right hook, Mastodon’s fourth studio album “Crack the Skye” is finally here. Following the success of “Blood Mountain”, Mastodon have conjured up yet another marvellous, metal, masterpiece. Like all good metal music there are riffs aplenty, shredding in the most ferocious sense of the word and shrieks and howls like an overweight person in Gregg’s, who has just been told all the sausage rolls have gone. Unlike most metal records however, this album only has seven songs in which to blow your mind and convince you that these boys really can play. Seven. Snow White only had seven Dwarfs and she seemed content enough, but unlike the dwarfs, these songs will not make you sleepy or indeed grumpy, but they will promise to make you happy. Very happy.
The first single off the album, “Divinations”, has to be one of the strongest tracks on the record, with its brutal and sometimes monstrous guitar-bashing riffs and venomous vocals, Mastodon certainly made the right decision to make this the initial song that showcased what the public could expect from “Crack The Skye”. The second single from the record “Oblivion” is again a strong contender for track of the album. Combining perishing guitar strings and vigorous drum beats, this track showcases that drummer Brann Dailor can do a lot more than just tap the steal, but he can also rip a chord or two himself. Even the two songs that overstep the ten minute mark, “ The Czar: I. Usurper II. Escape III. Martyr IV. Spiral” and “The Last Baron”, mange to not only maintain your attention, but also capture it and rock the hell out of it.
This is defiantly going to be a contender for album of 2009 and should defiantly be a must have for all metal fans, old or new. Maybe then the seven gems of pure musical genius should not be in fact compared to our height restricted friends, but to the works of director John Sturges and his epic western film, The Magnificent Seven. Mastodon may not yet have the stardom that Yul Brynner or Steve McQueen had, but if they continue to make records as astute and magnificent as this, they can certainly look forward to it in the future.
Sounds like you don't listen to much metal, becaues you say its, metal, music, like its a forigen substance. It's Mastodon people should assume it's metal. Also SO WHAT if it has 7 songs! Metallicas incredible Master of Puppets only had 8 songs, don't see why it deserves so much focus of the review. Just saying.
I agree about the strange similies that you use, I found it a little disconcerting. It's not a bad review by any means, I've seen a lot worse, and I'll let you off as it is your first :-)
Oh well if he's done 5 today then I have another piece of advice, SLOW DOWN kiddo. Read the ol' constructive criticism and use whatever you learn for future reviews.
