Crack the Skye (2009) - Mastodon

 

Tracklist:

1. Oblivion – 5:46

2. Divinations – 3:39

3. Quintessence – 5:27

4. The Czar – 10:55

   • I. Usurper

   • II. Escape

   • III. Martyr

   • IV. Spiral

5. Ghost of Karelia – 5:25

6. Crack the Skye – 5:54 (feat. Scott Kelly)

7. The Last Baron – 13:01

With Crack the Skye, released in 2009, Mastodon stepped through a portal. They didn’t just push the boundaries of progressive metal — they shattered them. What emerged was not just an album, but a fully immersive spiritual and sonic journey, and arguably the band’s defining artistic statement.

If Leviathan was fire and Blood Mountain was earth, Crack the Skye was air — vast, mystical, and unbound by the laws of gravity or genre. The album’s sprawling concept blends astral projection, Rasputin, wormholes, and the afterlife, woven together as a metaphor for loss, grief, and searching for meaning beyond death.

At the emotional core of the album is drummer Brann Dailor’s tribute to his sister Skye, who died by suicide at a young age. Her name is in the title, and her spirit haunts every riff, every drum fill, every lyric. The album is a meditation on grief and transcendence disguised as cosmic metal opera — bold, deeply personal, and spiritually weighty.

Musically, Crack the Skye marks a major pivot. Mastodon fully embraced melody and progressive structure, dialing back the aggressive vocals and leaning into clean singing and layered compositions. Brann Dailor’s drumming is still explosive, but more nuanced and narrative. The guitar work from Hinds and Kelliher flows like liquid — serpentine, psychedelic, and rich with emotion.

“The Czar,” a four-part, 11-minute epic, is a highlight of the band’s entire career — a slow-burning suite that moves from haunting melodies to soaring climaxes. “Oblivion” opens the album with spacious riffing and one of Mastodon’s most memorable choruses, while “Crack the Skye” features the deep, menacing voice of Scott Kelly (Neurosis) in a devastating guest appearance.

“The Last Baron,” the 13-minute closer, is pure progressive metal theater — dynamic, virtuosic, and emotionally exhausting in the best way. It feels like an exorcism, a goodbye, and a release.

Crack the Skye was a critical milestone. It brought Mastodon wider acclaim and introduced them to audiences far outside the metal underground. Fans of Pink Floyd, King Crimson, or Tool could find a home here just as easily as doom and sludge devotees.

This is not just one of the best metal albums of the 2000s — it’s one of the most emotionally powerful records in modern rock. It’s an album about loss, but also about what lies beyond. Crack the Skye doesn’t just mourn the dead — it reaches toward them.

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