An epic prog-rock trek
Mastodon’s past flirtations with prog
have consistently pitched toward the metal side of scrimmage, never
fully embracing the melodic pomp of Yes and ELP. Crack The
Skye—though still intrinsically a metal album—is rife with
unabashed overtures to the symphonic rock of yore. The mosaic’s
central tile is “The Czar,” a four-part ode to Rasputin bursting
with Moog lines and Eastern European folk. “Ghost of Karelia”
briefly doffs the fox mask to revisit the band’s signature
style—double-bass drums and tuneful hooks welded to inscrutable
libretto: “Wrathful ones, nine eyes gaze / Holding skulls / Filled
and laced / With human blood.” Yet the most progressive part of the
album is the band’s restrained temperament. Amidst blistering
tritone riffs and arpeggiated chords is a group keener to explore
sonic harmony than crank the distortion. Crack the Skye is an
epic trek across the space-time continuum, entirely on Mastodon’s
terms.