Rolling Stone (p.81) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "CRACK THE SKYE is an awesome display....It's thrill-ride stuff that conjures not just art-metal predecessors such as Helmet but also old-school prog-rockers like Rush, Frank Zappa and Yes." Spin (p.74) - "CRACK THE SKYE is a seven-song, 50-minute phantasmagoria of psychedelic song structures, cosmic lyrics, and foreboding atmosphere. Opener 'Oblivion' provides a fiery summary of what's to come..." Spin (p.31) - Ranked #17 in Spin's "40 Best Albums Of 2009" -- "Mastodon's fourth album is their glossiest effort yet." Alternative Press (p.116) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Guitarist Bill Kelliher's mathy riffing is simply seismic; standouts 'Oblivion' and 'Quintessence' juxtapose burning-horizon solos and must-mosh-now thunderclaps." Kerrang (Magazine) (p.50) - "The record rumbles to life with the ominous 'Oblivion,' the sound of thunder moving over mountains, and the menacing tone this strikes is prevalent throughout and best demonstrated on the title-track, which is one of the meanest and most overpowering songs you're likely to hear this year..." Q (Magazine) (p.107) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]heir most mainstream to date....A sprawling prog-metal masterpiece....Richly rewarding..." Blender (Magazine) (p.61) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "New to the mix are rich vocal harmonies, Vocoder, organ and unprecedented awesomeness....Mastodon present a prog-metal concept that would make Stephen Hawking bang his head." Pitchfork (Website) - "'The Czar,' a four-part, 11-minute epic that's still only the second-longest song on the album, gargles and fumes and lurches for nearly three minutes before launching into its first glorious steamroller riffs."