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| Reviewers Rating |
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| 1 reviews done for this album. |
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| Scar Sighted |
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| By: | thefalloutguy |
| Date: | 1 May 2015 |
| Rating: | |
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Leviathan is one of those strange bands that demands more than a couple listening to an album before you can "get it." This is no departure and upon the first 2 rounds I found it somewhat meh overall. Having heard it about 5 times full through I can say it is easily a solid 4.5. It isn't Massive Conspiracy Against All Life nor is it Verrater, but it will definitely be a hallmark Leviathan album. It seems Wrest is back in his groove of solid composures since he has got his shit together now.
Musically this album is shunted by off production in my opinion. The guitars are way too prominent for anything Leviathan/LoC. The drums in a few tracks are astonishing but are several layers under guitars and a large amount of white noise. While I am not sure if it is something that is "be careful what you wish for," I can't help but think Leviathan could become a significant legend if the musical curtain of buzz was taken out of all the albums. The heavy hum and blur just annoys me and it is incredibly powerful in this album. Especially early on. The musical talent is there but it has that fog lingering over it which muffles said talent.
The first part of the album has more Death Metal roots and while it isn't bad, it isn't exactly the trademark Leviathan. You can tell Wrest made it and is playing it but it does wash out a bit with modern death metal acts. Smoke of their Torment and Dawn Vibrations are very powerful tracks but don't really fit in. It seems as though Wrest is testing the waters as to what exactly the response is to his Death Metal skills.
The rest is full on Leviathan however and Gardens of Corprolite merges the two parts pretty well actually. Wicked Fields of Calm moves in and you can tell you are listening to what is certainly Leviathan. Within Thrall marches in making a sustained peak all the way through the first third of Scar Sighted. It looses steam with half of Scar Sighted turning into a slow doomish part that drones on which then picks up into a general black metal. All Tongues Toward comes with a good intro, a furious short section then a signature part of Leviathan and Atmospheric BM which is the drawn out guitar screeching that echoes. Aphonos is an outro for me and doesn't really seem to be adding much to the album. The echoing growls and howls get old and the instrumentation follows suit in what is mostly an atmospheric sound with random beeping much like what Burzum has done in the past.
Overall there is a large amount of progression and it isn't the same exact formula rehashed and it has a different sound while maintaining its' typical trademarks. While it will take a few listens it does have many memorable moments and could be one of the best albums of 2015 for black metal fans. If there was some more refinement and somethings were cut out to make it a 40 minute album chock full of amazement, this would easily be a runner up to Lurker of Chalice and possible best Massive Conspiracy.
9.2/10
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