And the 'Don go marching on

Oooh, I'm breaking the mould here and going with a non-sporting post. Just had to talk a bit about this band Mastodon. In my eyes, they've just created the album of 2009, regardless of genre. It's also a lazy post, this is my review of their latest album Crack The Skye, which I managed to get printed in the Kilkenny People. Here's a shortened version of it.



Mastodon's second major album Crack The Skye, see's Atlanta's progressive metal titans, elevating their sound to new levels of excellence. A carefully thought out and brilliantly executed album regardless of musical affiliation. With subject matter ranging from Czarist Russia to the workings of the cosmos.

Crack The Skye presents a stunningly original fusion of sounds. With the band sharing vocal duties among three members, banjo's, keyboards, mellotrons all enter the fray, it's the sound of a band breaking sonic boundaries. It's a true 'head-phone' album, there is time & tempo shifts galore. It can instantly shift from straight ahead metal, to prog-rock, to jazz rock, in a couple of short seconds.
'Quintessence' & 'Ghost of Karelia' and the fantastic title track are compelling examples of how Mastodon has broadened their sound. Closer the 13-minute epic 'The Last Baron' spares nothing, with classic rock riffs, bazooka drumbeats and spiralling leads all competing with Sander's martial bark.
Record sales be damned, Mastodon can rest comfortably in the knowledge, that they have just recorded their masterpiece. An album fans and critics alike can worship over for years to come.

Rating: 9/10