CRACK THE SKYE

I've always liked this album, but in recent years I've appreciated it more and more, to the point where I absolutely agree with its acclaim as one of prog metal's absolute finest moments. The fusion between prog and sludge that Mastodon pioneered had mixed returns on their more sludge-oriented early work, but here it strikes gold time and time again. This is definitely a pure prog album at heart, but they know exactly when to fire up a big riff or a harsh vocal segment to keep the music moving - rather than simply being heavy for the sake of it. But the main reason this excels is because the musical ideas are just so fresh - the melodies are catchy, the riffs are memorable, and most importantly - it's impeccably structured, especially in the longer tracks. Not a moment goes by where it feels like they're treading water, and the kinetic drumming from Brann Dailor manages to glue all the disparate moods together into something that feels like one larger collective piece.

8.8 (11th listen)

Part of my listening diary from my facebook music blog - www.facebook.com/TheExoskeletalJunction

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