Mastodon Crack The Skye on Vinyl LP!  

Mastodon is currently most important band in metal if not all of America. Expanding on two exceptional albums for Relapse Records, the Atlanta band’s 2006 major-label debut Blood Mountain earned a Grammy nomination as well as countless critical accolades. Since then, the group has only gotten better, further developing its heavy sound on the groundbreaking Crack the Skye to include prog-rock, blues, country, and harmonic singing.

Again featuring the peerless interplay of virtuosic guitarists Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher, the band's fourth studio set mines subject matter ranging from czarist Russia and astral travel to out-of-body experiences and Stephen Hawking theories on wormholes. The psychedelic concept album is inspired by Hinds' near-death experience as well as childhood suicide of drummer Brann Dailor's sister, making this the most personal, spiritual, and realized effort of Mastodon's career. As well as the quartet's most ambitious.

"If Radiohead is modern rock's benchmark, then Mastodon rightly takes its place as the British group's hard-rock/metal equivalent." -Bob Gendron, The Absolute Sound, April 2009

"With Crack the Skye, their fourth record, the Atlanta quartet have set out to meet the masses for their Metallica moment. They've moderated their relentless assault—a bit —and joined forces with hard–rock producer Brendan O'Brien (Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam). There will be naysayers among the band's extreme, tatted legions. But Crack the Skye is an awesome display." -Will Hermes, Rolling Stone, April 2009