Mastodon - Crack the Skye

METAL

Resisting any temptation to compromise their sound in pursuit of any continued commercial growth, Atlanta’s Mastodon run headlong down a dark path where giant nocturnal beasts ravage the land with the making of exploratory progressive metal as the only real aspiration. They throw us further out into orbit than ever with an ambitious, dense record, which is so damn complex and intriguing that that you barely notice the pseudo Dungeons and Dragons lyrical topiary or flashes of style over substance. Crack the Skye has neither the immediacy or weight of its two monolithic predecessors, but it does have a saucer full of cosmic secrets inside to sup that will provide new and different rewards over time.

(Interscope)