Mastodon Cracks the Skye in half!

Mastodon has always been a band that pays great attention to their albums packaging and as a result we are always treated with the most over the top , bad ass album art with them. With their latest effort Crack the Skye, they not only deliver, but they up their game. Skye has incredible album art that not only wows visually but also enhances the music. The album has a psychedelic feel to it in places, and the artwork really captures that. The record’s concept is about out-of-body experiences, and the imagery certainly evokes that using designs that depict wormholes and Russian tzars.

You have to turn the lyric book upside down, and start from the back to read the lyrics in order. With each lyric section, there is a vibrant picture accompanying . Whether it’s a picture of a bear or a tzar staring back at you with glowing eyes, the art jumps at you. If there ever was an album where the packaging is a must buy with the music, this is it. The vinyl edition comes out next month, and I will probably recommending that version over the CD one (just imagine the already incredible art, but in the larger vinyl format). However, at $11 you can’t go wrong with buying the CD+DVD combo.

Final Verdict: This is a must buy. The album art is simply incredible – an early favorite for best album art of 2009.

Video:

Packaging Review: Mastodon – Crack the Skye from onethirtybpm on Vimeo.

Photos:

- Brent Koepp