3 out of 5

Label: Reprise

Producer: Brendan O’Brien

I’m sure it’s technically awesome, but Mastodon’s second major label outing ends up sounding sorta like what I expected their first major label outing to be – more palatable Mastodon.  The chops are still there, as any song’s guitar wankering and drumming magic and vocal variations can attest, but Brendan O’Brien seems to rip the guts out of the disc in favor of fleshing out all the extras.  Those ‘extras’ have been something Mastodon has been tinkering with for a while, so it’s not so far out of line, but the band is still basically writing the rockers they always have, and thus the switch in aural focus doesn’t do that ‘rock’ aspect enough justice.

Still, palatable doesn’t mean bad – it means what it means (he said, sorta bastardizing the word): ‘Skye’ is incredibly listenable.  Brent Hinds singing / talk-singing dominates the disc, making his rare changes into metal grunts more impressive, and not a moment on the disc doesn’t flow seamlessly into the next, even on the centerpiece ‘The Czar: Usurper/Escape/Martyr/Spiral,’ which steps through different musical movements as it’s slashed title suggests.  And though I find a good portion of the disc blends together due to my distaste for the production, I do appreciate the sequencing: the first and last track hit like some of the strongest Mastodon material (opener ‘Oblivion’ certainly gives hope that this will be a rousing followup to ‘Blood Mountain’), and these tracks are followed and preceded, respectively, by tracks that blend the new with the old – ‘Divinations’ has an awesome breakdown for its conclusion that makes good use of O’Brien’s knob twiddling, and the penultimate title track drops back into some good ol’ chugga chugga.  And then in the middle of the disc – tracks 3 through 5 – we get to the super prog and leave the metal behind.  Book-ending things as such definitely makes all the difference: some discs you hesitate to play from start to finish because they drag at a certain point, but ‘Crack’s cyclical structure means you can leave it on repeat, and give that ‘Czar’ track another shot, hearing some extra instrumental nuance that passed you by on the first go.

Mastodon’s lyrics have never really meant much to me, opting for typical metal wizards and whales themes or over-developed narratives, and ‘Crack’ being a “mystical concept record about Tsarist Russia” (paraphrased from Allmusic) doesn’t buck that trend, so I still don’t really give a fig about what’s being sung.  I do find most concept records tend to fall into the sound-alike trap I’ve mentioned above, though, as the lyrics fully overtake musical pursuits, so it’s probably not full coincidence that the part of the album that causes me to tune out is also the most narrative-heavy.  Thus, Mr. O’Brien, I release you from a percentage of the blame.

Listened to in sequence, ‘Skye’ is a reasonable progression from ‘Blood Mountain.’  It’s not really forward or back, it’s just cast in a different light.  Interestingly, though, I think that had this been Mastodon’s first major label release, more people would have called foul.  So maybe it was a smart plan – to deliver the goods initially, then slip in an album where you try your hand at a cleaner, proggier sound.  It’s not a full success, but it’s still Mastodon, and still definitely worth a listen.