Choice Is Yours Vol. 54: Crack the Skye vs. Blue Record
Mastodon – Crack the Skye (2009)
Vs.
Baroness – Blue Record (2009)
The Game is simple… if only one could exist which would it be? What’s more important… personal relevance, cultural significance, or simply being the better album all other things aside? Choice is yours…
November 21st, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Sorry for now doing 3 Sludge/Stoner/Doom CIYs but they’re fun and they’re all leading up to something come early next year. Plus i thought it’d be fun to pit two releases from this year against each other.
November 24th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Blue Record. Crack The Skye got old in a week, Blue Record is astounding still.
November 24th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Prolly your job is now killing two posts and reviews!
November 24th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Blue Record Hands down; musically and cover art wise it is the superior album.
November 24th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Blue Record. Though I liked Crack the Skye quite a bit after it sunk in, Blue Record had me by the balls since the first time I heard it. When that thrashy guitar comes in at the beginning of “The Sweetest Curse”, it gets me every time!
November 24th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Seeing as how I’m not a big Mastodon fan, choosing Blue Record is a no brainer. But even if I did like Mastodon, I don’t see how anything could be better than Baroness’ new album…
November 24th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Baroness ALLL DAYYY
November 24th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Love Mastodon but Crack the Skye was not their best. I’ll go with Baroness
November 24th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Brue Lecord
Mastodon BLOWS
November 24th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
i recommend the blue album to all my friends, constantly.
November 24th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
Blue album fuck that niggas face tatooo fo real fo real
November 24th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Blue Record
November 24th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
These albums are basically the same. Both start off strong, but don’t don’t evolve enough to make up for a big loss of heaviness. They are both basically pop bands with decent guitars now. Sorta like Torche. Except for all the Torche bashing about being too poppy, they still manage to be heavy.
In the future, when I want to hear Mastodon, it won’t be Crack the Skye. When I want to hear Baroness, it won’t be Blue Album. Still a big fan of both bands, but call 2009 a mulligan.
November 24th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
I think both of these albums are both band’s best and most interesting and daring work. But I still give the edge to Blue.
November 24th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
If it were just an artwork contest I would go with the Rubenesque JOB Sirens with bush over Rasputin’s interdimensional apparitions. The Baroness artwork is some of the best I’ve seen in years!
Also: The Mastodon backlash on the Bloglin is hysterical
November 24th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
I’ll say this about the cover art for Crack the Skye. When i first saw it i absolutely hated it. I even remember reading countless threads on forums discussing how awful it was.
Then while at the Mastodon/Kylesa show earlier this year in NYC, Greg went to go got one of their tees with just the album artwork and I asked him “Seriously? That one?” to which he replied and I’m paraphrasing “Yeah it’s great! The design looks like it was made by your typical 70′s Prog/Metal album cover artist who magically had Photoshop and Illustrator plunked down on his lap while working on this piece back then.”
After that point I have never looked at that album artwork the same way, nor do I hate it.
November 24th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
Baroness, hands down. See them live you you’ll see why.
November 25th, 2009 at 9:26 am
After listening to both before posting I’m going with Baroness. As for the artwork… well both get high rankings, but baroness gets the 10 just because I’m a huge Baizley fan.
November 25th, 2009 at 11:04 am
Fuck em both. Since when is this column about easy listening?
November 25th, 2009 at 11:19 am
Jack are you just always “on”?
November 25th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Nah, only when Prolly’s two knuckles deep.