Mastodon, Crack The Skye

It’s a daunting task to follow up a classic breakthrough album. Many bands take the route of making a copy of what got them where they are. Or worse, making an album that they think people will like. Atlanta’s Mastodon, fortunately, decided to make an album that they like, and what comes out is a seven-track, 45-minute monument to heavy prog-rock greatness.

With the help of producer Brendan O’Brien, Crack The Skye is an album that slowly unfolds, revealing things with every listen. The story is a bizarre tour de force about a quadriplegic that travels through the astral planes and is returned to his body with the help of crazed Russian monk Rasputin.

I know, I know — not that same old story again.

Musically, all four members of Mastodon are on their game. The rhythm section has always been solid, with the drumming of Brann Dailor, whose drum fills are nearing legendary levels, and the playing of vocalist/bassist Troy Sanders. Sanders has really elevated his performance this time out; these two work as not just a foundation but as partners with the guitar histrionics of Brent Hinds and Bill Kellihor. The pair’s ability to play intricate yet engaging riffs makes the most advanced of MIT shredders green with envy.

Crack The Skye doesnt have a “single” like its predecessors, but every track is engrossing. From opener “Oblivion,” with its hypnotic vocal lines, all the way to closer “The Last Baron,” the band never sits still. “Last Baron” is an 11-minute epic that flows seamlessly, changing emotion, power, and feel several times throughout. The songs are not overly busy or pretentious like Dream Theater’s, but are rather quicksand-like. They slowly pull you in, until there’s nothing you can do to resist.

Crack The Skye isn’t an album that will grab you from the start. With each listen, you become more and more involved with it, picking up new things along the way. Most albums are not worth that kind of effort; this one definitely is.