Mastodon - Crack the Skye [Score] (2009)

Mastodon's fourth album "Crack the Skye" was released on March 24, 2009 as a normal version and a deluxe version (which includes all songs in instrumental versions as well as their normal versions). The album is produced by Brendan O'Brien and Scott Kelly of Neurosis returns as a guest musician on the title-track. While the lyrics have been reported to explore topics relating to Czarist Russia, the band has denied the album is about Grigori Rasputin. These rumors started after a drawing of Rasputin was featured in merchandise. The band had debuted three new tracks at the Bonnaroo Music Festival, but did not play anymore live before the album's release, due to fears of internet distribution and wanting to play the songs to the right audience. In a MusicRadar interview, guitarist Bill Kelliher confirmed the album is about an "out of body experience," and looks at the concepts of astral travel, wormholes, Stephen Hawking's theories and the spiritual realm. Drummer Brann Dailor has a section of vocals on the song "Oblivion" following the intro and chorus. The band has announced they will play the album in its entirety incorporating a stage show on their upcoming tour.
Mastodon is a Grammy-nominated heavy metal band and are one of the most notable bands in the New Wave of American Heavy Metal. They formed in 1999 in Atlanta, Georgia by Brann Dailor, Bill Kelliher, Troy Sanders, Brent Hinds and original vocalist Eric Saner. They have released four full-length albums and have toured worldwide, achieving increased album sales and an ever expanding fan base with each new release.
Mastodon was formed in late 1999 when drummer Brann Dailor and guitarist Bill Kelliher moved to Atlanta and met bassist/singer Troy Sanders and guitarist/singer Brent Hinds at a High on Fire show. They discovered they had a mutual appreciation of sludge metal bands Melvins and Neurosis and '70s hard-rockers Thin Lizzy, and shortly thereafter formed Mastodon.
They recorded a demo in 2000, which featured the band's first lead singer, Eric Saner on vocals.[10] Saner left the band for personal reasons after just a couple of months. After recording a four song demo and a 7-inch picture disc through Reptilian Records, Mastodon landed a record deal with Relapse Records in 2001.[10] They released an EP, Lifesblood in 2001 and their first full-length album, Remission, was released in 2002, with the single "March of the Fire Ants."[10] (which also featured on Tony Hawk's Underground) On the first three of Mastodon's full-length albums, the last track of each relates to the Elephant Man.
Mastodon has gained additional mainstream exposure with the explosion of rhythm-based home video games. "Sleeping Giant" was made available as a downloadable song for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, and "Colony of Birchmen" was included on Harmonix's Rock Band 2. "Blood and Thunder" will also be part of Guitar Hero: Metallica. Mastodon also contributed a cover version of Harry Nilsson's "One" for the video game Army of Two's advertisement campaign. The band members are fans of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and in 2007, Mastodon performed the opening song of Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters, "Cut You Up with a Linoleum Knife".
Source: Wikipedia

Tracklist: 1. Oblivion, 2. Divinations, 3. Quintessence, 4. The Czar (I. Unsurper, II. Escape, III. Martyr, IV. Spiral), 5. Ghost of Karelia, 6. Crack the Skye, 7. The Last Baron.
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Mastodon & Thin Lizzy - Emerald (2009)

Mastodon's Bill Kelliher & Brent Hinds performs the amazing 'Emerald' with Thin Lizzy's Scott Gorham at Gibson Studios, London UK.

Body Count - Body Count (1992)

"Body Count is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1990. The group was founded by Ice-T, best known for his contributions to the hip hop genre. Ice-T founded the group out of his interest in heavy metal, and took on the role of vocalist for the group, writing the lyrics for most of the group's songs, while the music was written by lead guitarist Ernie C.
Body Count is the eponymous debut album of American heavy metal band Body Count. "Cop Killer" was originally intended to be the album's title, as evidenced by the tattoo on the original cover. Released on Sire Records in 1992, the album material focuses on various social and political issues ranging from police brutality to drug abuse. The album presents a turning point in the career of Ice-T, who co-wrote the album's songs with lead guitarist Ernie C and performed as the band's lead singer. Previously known only as a rapper, Ice-T's work with the band helped establish a crossover audience with rock music fans. The album produced one single, "There Goes the Neighborhood."
Body Count is best known for the inclusion of the controversial song "Cop Killer," which was the subject of much criticism from various political figures, although many defended the song on the basis of the group's right to freedom of speech. Ice-T eventually chose to remove the song from the album, although it continues to be performed live. Although the album received mixed reviews, it was ranked among the Village Voice's list of the 40 Best Albums of 1992, and is believed to have helped pave the way for the mainstream success of the rapcore genre, although the album itself does not feature rapping in any of its songs.
The album encountered controversy before its original release. It was originally set to be distributed under the title Cop Killer, named for the song of the same name, which criticizes violent police officers, and was interpreted as an attack against the entire police force. At a Time-Warner shareholders' meeting, actor Charlton Heston stood and read lyrics from the song "KKK Bitch" to an astonished audience and demanded that the company take action. Sire responded by changing the title to Body Count, but did not remove the song. In an article for the Washington Post, Tipper Gore condemned Ice T for songs like "Cop Killer," writing that "Cultural economics were a poor excuse for the South's continuation of slavery. Ice-T's financial success cannot excuse the vileness of his message [...] Hitler's anti-Semitism sold in Nazi Germany. That didn't make it right." The Dallas Police Association and the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas launched a campaign to force Warner Bros. Records to withdraw the album. CLEAT called for a boycott of all products by Time-Warmer in order to secure the removal of the song and album from stores. Within a week, they were joined by police organizations across the United States. Ice T asserted that the song was written from the point of view of a fictional character, and told reporters that "I ain't never killed no cop. I felt like it a lot of times. But I never did it. If you believe that I'm a cop killer, you believe David Bowie is an astronaut," in reference to Bowie's song "Space Oddity".
Source: Wikipedia

Tracklist: 1. Smoked Pork, 2. Body Count's In the House, 3. Now Sports, 4. Body Count, 5. A Statistic, 6. Bowels of the Devil, 7. The Real Problem, 8. KKK Bitch, 9. C Note, 10. Voodoo, 11. The Winner Loses, 12. There Goes the Neighborhood, 13. Oprah, 14. Evil Dick, 15. Body Count Anthem, 16. Momma's Gotta Die Tonight, 17. Out In the Parking Lot, 18. Cop Killer.
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