After emerging from the muddy underground in a wonderful muck of sludge, prog, hardcore, and doomy weirdness out of Atlanta in the early aughts, Mastodon built up a strong reputation after their crucial third album, Blood Mountain (Reprise). They were not shy about embracing their proggier side, and they never needed a push over the edge to go fully away from most conventional types of metal they were known for at the time. Their second major label album came at a time of transition that would alter the course of the band and see them leave the underground and embrace a different path. That change led to the creation of Crack The Skye (Reprise) which is now ten years old.

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