Crack the Skye(15th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) [DE-Version, Regio 2/ B]
Mastodon

In 2009, Mastodon were expected to at least repeat their success, everyone would have applauded if they had released another "Mountain", but the result exceeded most expectations. Without forgetting their love for metal, "Mastodons" recorded a surprisingly elegant album, imbued with the psychedelic atmosphere of progressive rock of the 70s. The sound softened, it really became more rock, there were much more clean vocals, which is also due to the full-time drummer Brann Dailor, who decided to work as a part-time vocalist this time. Seven album tracks, as they say, one more beautiful than the other; there are no bad, boring, quickly boring songs, you want to listen to the album and listen to it again and again. As is clear from the previous phrase, any track can be singled out, but I would like to specifically focus on two: the first - and it really is the first on the tracklist - is the little thing "Oblivion", a not very impressive intro quickly turns into a very beautiful and atmospheric mid-tempo composition, greeting us with Brann's vocals, who are joined a little later by the main vocalist Brent. Reaching the chorus, it begins to seem that this song envelops, leaving the listener in some kind of sweet oblivion - oblivion, who knows? Closer to the end, we hear a hard rock solo performed by the only non-singing member of the group, guitarist Bill, which is also not uncommon on this album. The second track, which requires a mandatory mention, is the epic "The Czar". The significance of the composition is well conveyed by the Russian proverb "Without a Tsar in the Head", indeed, without the "Tsar" the album would simply be incomplete. In general, it seems that "The Czar" is tailored according to all the canons of classic progressive rock: 11 minutes of this conceptual composition are divided into four parts, the transition between which is accompanied by changes in tempo and mood. In the third minute of sound, you can clearly hear such a bizarre instrument as a mellotron, which also sends us somewhere to the rock of the 70s. "The Tsar" is the core of the album, its heart, it is better to listen to this track once than to read about it ten times. As a result, fifty minutes of the disc fly by very quickly, you immediately want more. Mastodon once again recorded an excellent, and at the same time, completely unexpected album that will not leave anyone indifferent.