CRACK THE SKYE

I'm absolutely blown away by this release! I just play if over and over! Some previous reviewers have said they were disappointed with the "softer" Crak the Skye for various reasons, but I guess they are part of the original fan base that liked mastodon for the Tech-Metal-Aggression, Growling-Vocals side of the Band, that defines Leviathan and Blood Mountain. Well, sorry for those guys. But even the band members themselves have stated they are incredibly proud of this new material and the way the music is written, arranged and structured, and the change in sound; and I agree with them. What a progression!

Trust me, DO NOT MISS OUT ON THIS CD!! It absolutely ROOAAWWWCCKKKSS!!!!!! I give it 4 stars because I don't care that much for tracks 3 and 6 but I tell you, the rest of this thing is Majestic! So thank you Mastodon for slowing down a bit, taking your time to discover new grounds and using clean vocals. Mastodon have stated they like this new direction and they'll keep going towards it. So behold progressive world, the birth of a Prog Monster!!!! Hail Mastodon!! Hail Crack the Skye!!! Do yourself a favour and buy this release, listen to it, re-listen to it, decode it, analyze it, listen to it some more, deconstruct it, build it back, play it again and again until the disc or your stereo breaks down, because this may arguably be the best CD in 2009.