Mastodon's "Crack The Skye" Lands On Time's Top 10
Albums Of 2009
Mastodon's latest album "Crack The Skye" has landed on spot #3
of Time's top 10 albums of 2009. "Crack The Skye" was the only
metal album to make the list. Time had this to say about about the
album:
The band name doesn't inspire confidence. Nor does the
warlock-strewn album cover. Nor the fact that Crack the Skye is the
last of a four-album cycle about Earth's elements. But before you
sneer, "Hello, Cleveland," listen to Mastodon's thunderous,
disciplined and expansive brand of metal. There are plenty of
bass-drum carpet-bombings, and "The Czar," a four-part ode to
Rasputin — O.K., go ahead: "Hello, Cleveland!" — has all the
whiplash rhythm shifts of vintage Metallica. But the album also has
nods to European folk, free jazz and prog rock, and as produced by
Brendan O'Brien (Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam), it fronts a brawny
sound that doesn't overwhelm the clarity of individual notes.
Chuckle at lyrics about "the space-time paradigm" if you must, but
the ambition and tenacity of Mastodon's music makes Crack the Skye
sonically unforgettable.
The other artists on the list included Brad Paisley, Dirty
Projectors, Miranda Lambert, Phoenix, The-Dream, Raekwon, Grizzly
Bear, The Avett Brothers, and Lady Gaga.