Another great album by Mastodon. Of all the bands in today's music scene, very few can get you as excited for a new album as Mastodon can. This one is a very ambitious, epic release, and they have pulled it off masterfully. "Divinations" is the closest thing on the album to a straght-on rocker in the style of "The Wolf is Loose" or "Blood and Thunder". Most of the other tracks are more mellow and atmospheric, suggesting influences from all over the musical spectrum. Mastodon's songwriting really shines on this album - they are without a doubt the modern masters of the concept album. Although this one is great, I slightly prefer the sound of their previous 2 albums, which had a good balance between the screams and the clean vocals (this album has almost entirely clean vocals). Anyway, I give them props for trying something new and expanding their sound, although I would prefer if their next release was a little more "metal".… Expand

An album that gets better each time you listen to it. What makes it better is that they released it with an instrumental version: Same music, sans vocals. Brilliant.

Though more focused on experimentation and prog-rock style than previous Mastodon work, Crack the Skye is an absolutely grandiose album. More than anything, it shows that Mastodon has that rare ability in metal to transcend its own genre, putting them on a stage with such luminaries as Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and Anthrax.

Fantastic. A natural progression of their work, in many ways it is their best. It may not be quite up there with Leviathan in terms of classic status, but this album is damn close. It only gets better with repeated listens, and the DVD (for the most part) truly enhances the experience. The lawnmower scene in the DVD is friggin weird, though. *shrug*

This band has not failed me yet.

its different. its epic. just listen. 3 times will let you decide if u want to go 4.

Best metal album since Blood Mountain. I can hear the metal purists name calling Mastodon as "sell outs"... I don't know why Metacritic isn't putting any full 100/100 Crack The Skye reviews on the list. There are plenty. And from well known sources too.

While, arguably, not as good as "Blood Mountain", Crack the Skye is still an amazing metal album. Mastodon may be the premier metal band of this generation. Period.

An absolute sonic masterpiece. "Oblivion" is an instant rock classic, "The Czar" is yet another spiraling ten minute plus Mastodon epic which, in the same album, is topped by the steamrolling 13 minute "The Last Baron". "Divinations" is a harkening to heavier Mastodon, but after several listens the atmosphere of this album grows and gloomy, ghastly tracks like "Ghost of Karelia" leave me listening over and over again and wondering what the hell Mastodon will do next.… Expand

The best album I have heard in a long, long time.

Awesome, absolutely awesome. Remids me of the first time I heard Metallica's "Ride The Lightning". Kazem is right, it gets better every time you listen to it.

Amazing! Just lite up a joint and slip into Oblivion. I'm glad Mastodon doesn't pump out the same album every time! Every album has been skillfully crafted, and Crack The Skye displays the band beautiful textures and song crafting ability in fine detail.

From rapid crushing riffs to shimmering melodies Crack The Skye has it all, something for everything. The interplay between Troy Sanders and Brent Hinds with the vocals ia fantastic, and the guitar solos are astounding. There's twists and turns, here Mastodon take you on a thrilling journey through beautiful soundscapes.

Logical next step for Mastodon. Solid from top to bottom, and The Czar is UNBELIEVABLE.

Just read the Q magazine review to see why this has as low a score as it does. Reviewers talk about how incredible it is and then say thats a problem.

Stunning work from these guys--again. Much praise is due to Mastodon for pushing the envelope.

Somewhere between the Allman Bros and Slayer lies Mastodon. They're the most refreshing band in metal music these days.

We'll be listening to this in twenty years time. That's all I have to say about it.

Screw the hardcore devotees that will call this a sellout because of their own mindless opinion of what THEIR band should sound like!

I've always liked Mastodon... but this album is one of their best... Slit your lungs with Blood and Thunder Mastodon Rocks.

Great metal album, this album gets better with each listen, true talent shines through with the bands new album.

One of the best albums I have heard in awhile. The songs are all thoughtful and technical beyond much of what is out today. It is a nice departure from the norm these days. Still classic Mastodon for me.

More music, less screaming. Great tunes played by great instrumentalists.

Must Or Don't listen? No question. This is a relic! Certainly worth a cracking the Hinds' brain in Vegas!

Huge disappointment for me. Too much melody and not enough rhythmic pounding. Prog-ish noodling instead of compelling riffing. Weak vocals. Nowhere near the replay value of the last three discs.

Wow. i haven't been this hooked on a metal album in a long time. great melodies, brutal passages and an interesting theme. their best yet by a long shot.

Easily a 10 for just pure replay value. It's tough to find any weak points in this album. I haven't heard a record this good in a long time like most others have stated.

Mastodon can now place themselves among the elite with the recording of Crack the Skye, emotion can be felt throughout the entire Disc, from funky basslines to pounding guitars to the tag team sonic fury displayed by Bill Keliher and Brent Hinds. It all leads to one of the, if not the Best metal albums of the last decade.

Absolutely brilliant. More homogenous in sound, more melodic, more ambitious on a grand scale (as always .. every time I wonder how far they will go next time). They have learned to sing and write proper songs, and the sheer musical talent on display is awesome. Played with the conviction of a band doing excactly what they aimed to do. Instant classic. Frankly, this one deserves an 11.

This album is absolutely amazing. It is unlike any of their past works, in that it lacks, for the most part, the heaviness that mastodon had back in the Remissions/Leviathan days. It replaces the fire with a more mellow, spaced out sound, with plenty of groove thrown in. The progression in sound, though, is a good one, and i think many people will agree.

This album is same old generic metal made slightly more interesting with Mastadon's excellent abilities to rock hard. It's structured differently but it's a tired sound, mainly. Longer, toned down, slight song changes, same old chug chug little mastadon-lick here isn't that creative. Listen to the best of this year so far, Zu. You will hear how metal sounds when it9;s actually progressing.… Expand

Amazing cd, i get more from it with each listen~ this is "Master of Puppets" good, and pretty close to "Reign in Blood" good!

For a metal band to actually progress beyond low grinding toneless riffing and belch singing is quite rare, so Mastodon immediately caught my attention. They are coming across as a band who explore new musical textures with known instruments and techniques and seem to be taking metal as just one more ingredient in their overall musical pot, which is something special and seems strangely honest. This record itself trades low end punch for beautiful melodies and freak outs, everything well executed and very well recorded and mixed. My personal favorite has to be Oblivion, which sums up perfectly what they were going on about in this record, a feeling of depth and perception in a mix of heavy playing and elegant evocative melodies.… Expand

Best album from the best metal band alive. Need I say more?

No matter what you may think of Mastodon's music there is no doubt that the lyrics in the songs of Crack the Skye delve very deep and is rich in their story. In this critic's opinion, musically, it is a masterpiece of stoner/prog metal and a transcendent tone that almost brings euphoria to the attuned ears.

This album had the ability to grab and hold your attention through out, each sound flows fluidly into the next and each new riff is more awesome and fulfilling than the last.