Haven't heard Crack the Skye yet but I listened to "Leviathan" ad nauseum at one point on my ipod (this is pre-hifi days for me). The entire album is a concept album, after Melville's Moby Dick.

They take chances with their music, and make smart but crunchy, densely meandering songs. And definitely harder than the White Stripes.

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Saw "Crack the Skye" on vinyl at the local record shop.

I hear the word 'metal' and recoil a bit, but I like NIN and White Stripes, etc...

Como se Mastadon?

it's nothing like NIN or WS. it's metal, like, real fast, hard, dense, loud, metal.

Mastodon is an extreme/hardcore metal band that leans to the progressive side. Their albums ususlly have a central theme, as stated earlier 'Leviathan' deals with Moby Dick and 'Blood Mountain' has woodland/forest creatures. The new album, 'Crack The Skye', is supposed to be about Tsarist Russia. Their music is very intense and complex. There are lots of twists & turns, breaks and time changes. If you can get past the "cookie monster" vocals, the music will leave your jaw on the floor. Just my opinion, your mileage may vary. Cheers.