Tahalele, David
Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:34:15 -0700
"CRACK THE SKYE" US PRESS QUOTES (Revised Apr 14, '09) "Mastodon are the greatest metal band of their generation - no one else comes close." -- Rolling Stone Magazine "They're the best hard rock band in America." - Blender Magazine "A shotgun marriage of art and brute force...The Atlanta quartet is setting metal's Gold standard." - USA Today (3 ½ Stars out of 4) "Mastodon are a bunch of doom-haunted, myth-obsessed, meat-and-potatoes Southern badasses who have become the most important new band in metal...'Crack the Skye' is an awesome display... by bringing more strains into their ass-kicking collage metal, they've opened a whole new range of possibilities." - Rolling Stone Magazine (4 Stars out of 5) "Bask in 'Crack the Skye's' superb sonic qualities. Give 'em half a chance and they'll take you someplace pretty cosmic." - Entertainment Weekly "Mastodon has earned its place at the forefront of progressive metal with a mix of headiness and brawn...but the ambitious vision and vivid execution of 'Crack The Skye don't feel like a departure for this band. And if letting go means breaking through some kind of ceiling, Mastodon seems both wary and ready." -The New York Times "The desert may be the ideal place to absorb the soaring intensity of serious hard rock, and this year, Mastodon is the band to bring it...The Atlanta four-piece continues to refine the idea if intelligent metal. ..The band benefits from a new level of subtlety on this complicated, conceptual outing, and that is likely to make fir a triumphant territory grab during this [Coachella 2009) set." - The Los Angeles Times "Nothing short of masterful." - Associated Press "Zeppelin-esque grandeur. Mastodon's music now feels as powerfully elemental as its subject matter." - Spin Magazine (4 ½ Stars out of 5) "Grandiose self-expression...Ambitious stuff." - Decibel Magazine "Mastodon presents a prog-metal concept that would make Stephen Hawking bang his head." - Blender Magazine "The music is as ambitious as the plot, but more coherent. Guitarist Bill Kelliher's mathy riffing is simply seismic. Drummer Brann Dailor plays with computer-like complexity and precision....firmly stakes Mastodon's claim to Led Zeppelin's album rock crown." - Alternative Press "Unpredictable, intelligent metal." - Spin Magazine "The Atlanta quartet's journey from the dirty bogs of southern metal to the summits of prog is without flaw. Mastodon's fourth is an out-of-body experience." - Filter Magazine "You can't causally listen to Mastodon. You have to clear your mind and inebriate yourself in the details Mastodon are aggressive, cerebral and innovative." - Inked Magazine "'Crack the Skye' is denser, deeper and more emotionally transfixing." - Chicago Tribune "Tight, economical and made for start-to-finish listening." - The Tampa Tribune "'Crack The Skye is an epic trek across the space-time continuum, entirely on Mastodon's terms." - Paste Magazine "...More harmony, finer melodies, loftier solos --Mastodon's sound is refined and expanded, formidable and accessible. Only a band this heavy can use a Talk-Box to sing about czarist Russia, reincarnation and astral traveling without sounding like tree-hugging wusses." - The Seattle Times "It's safe to say that several hundred thousand minds will be expanded while listening to the Brendan O'Brien-produced project." - Billboard "Such daring artistry had all but vanished from the metal scene." - Associated Press "'Crack The Skye' is a prog-metal classic, void of pretension or hesitation." - Austin Chronicle "Mastodon are metal's route out of a self-inflicted purgatory." - Illinois Entertainer "Mastodon's music never really settles into a locked-in groove. Instead, it skips, and dives and wanders...it's not to show off math-rock chops; it's to rip the rug out from under you, to keep you uncomfortable. It delays the gratification...which makes the release that much more overwhelming when it finally arrives." - Pitchfork.Com "This is the next step in the band's natural evolution through the sonic realm, the next rite of passage for those about to rock, and the ultimate expression of a band kicking major ass at the height of their power. It also flat-out fucking rocks." - BlogCritics.Com "Album of the year accolades...Mastodon is the rare metal band to nab mainstream acceptance along with indie cred. On the group's fourth record, they actually get a little weirder and proggier." -- Metromix.Com "This band is wildly inventive." Jim Derogotis/Sound Opinions/Chicago Public Radio "If you liked Metallica when they had long hair, or AC/DC when they had hair, then this band will be right up your alley." - CBS Sports.Com "Their most disciplined performances on record to date. They never fail to deliver." - PopMatters.Com "The Atlanta quartet has been hailed as "Metal's most important band," now they're dropping the "metal" part and are simply one of the world's most important bands. One of the best hard rock albums of the past decade." - Jambase.com "'Crack The Skye' is an enormous record, expansive in sounds and stylistically all over the map. It's the catchiest the band has ever sounded, yet it's classic Mastodon at their finest." - TrebleZine.Com "It's another excellent effort....'Crack The Skye' is still a challenging album with a lot of depth and should increase their fanbase." - About.Com "It's a dizzying experience from top to bottom, and one that expands with each listen." - MusicRadar.Com "Musically, conceptually and visually speaking, this is among the best that 2009 has yet to offer...by far the band's most awe-inspiring combination of eeriness, melody, prog-minded musicianship and riff innovation." - Blabbermouth.Net LIVE QUOTES: "If Mastodon's Birmingham gig is any indication, their brutal, manic delivery will cement the band's place at the top of the metal hierarchy, and hopefully challenge others in the genre to meet their standards." -- Spin.Com April 13, 2009 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]