CRACK THE SKYE

I listened to CRACK THE SKYE for the first time today. I must say that it is the best new metal (not nu metal) album I've heard since The Mars Volta's THE BEDLAM IN GOLIATH last January. I had heard some Mastodon stuff previous to listening to CRACK THE SKYE but it was waayyyy to heavy for my tastes--I'm a fan of The Mars Volta, Tool, and Porcupine Tree. But CRACK THE SKYE is a very melodic album even though there is an abundance of growling on here (it's a metal album, after all). The vocals on CRACK THE SKYE remind of such diverse hard rock/metal vocalists as Ozzy Osbourne, David Draiman, James LeBrie, and Mikael Akerfeldt. Musically, it is mishmash of an abundance of genres such as psychedelic rock, sludge metal, and, naturally, prog metal. This is one of the best albums of 2009 I've heard, so far. I'm highly anticipating more prog rock/metal releases by The Mars Volta and Porcupine Tree. But for fans of any type of progressive rock, CRACK THE SKYE is a great album to whet your appetite while waiting for more exciting 2009 releases. GRADE: A- (89%)