MASTODON - Crack The Skye

Much has been made of this disc's two 10-minute-plus tunes, mid-paced tempos, and abundant singing. But for those paying attention to Mastodon's career, Crack The Skye isn't nearly the departure it might seem on paper. 2004's breakout Leviathan featured the 13-minute "Hearts Alive", a tune that would fit here like a glove, while 2006's Blood Mountain's big single was the chugging "Colony Of Birchman", a nearly-classic-rock jam with Queens Of The Stone Age singer Josh Homme. And as for Skye's grandiose wanderings, even at their most punishing the band has always distinguished themselves by their inability to play it straight, most notably with Brann Dailor's relentlessly evolving drumming. Bottom line: this is still most definitely a Mastodon album, and a really good one at that--it just takes a few more listens to understand how they're phrasing things this time around.