Mastodon
Live At The Aragon

Live albums are usually hit-or-miss affairs; Mastodon's first foray into the world of the concert document is mostly miss. The band's decision to play their latest album, Crack The Skye, in its entirety is a bad idea right off the bat - we just heard this album, and it sounded far, far better in the studio, where the astral sound effects and untreated vocals could stand on their own. Furthermore, the band rarely strays from the sound of the record, which makes for a boring listen in its own right. Want to compound the problem? The vocals sound terrible - not because they were recorded poorly but because the two vocalists suck live when they're not growling or masked by distortion. The decision to steer clear of any material from their two strongest albums (Leviathan and Blood Mountain), save a track from each, also adds to this record's detriment. The only high point is a cover of the Melvins "The Bit," and that comes at the end of the disc. Save your money and buy the originals.