Leviathan [Enhanced]

Leviathan [Enhanced]

Track Listings

1. Blood and Thunder

2. I Am Ahab

3. Seabeast

4. Island

5. Iron Tusk

6. Megalodon

7. Kajed Burn

8. Aqua Dementia

9. Hearts Alive

10. Joseph Merrick

11. Iron Tusk/Blood and Thunder [Multimedia Track]

Tracks:

Blood and Thunder
I am Ahab
Seabeast
Island
Iron Tusk
Megalodon
Naked Burn
Aqua Dementia
Hearts Alive
Joseph Merrick

Album Description

"MASTODON are undoubtedly the future of metal" - KERRANG! "at that same cusp where METALLICA once perched, circa 1988's " And Justice For All. MASTODON is poised to rule the rock earth"

- WASHINGTON POST / EXPRESS "MASTODON could be considered the second coming of Metallica and Rush combined, and nobody who's seen them live could counter that opinion."

- MTV.com

Inarguably one of the most exciting new bands to form in the last ten years, MASTODON is an explosive, unbridled force. With an ageless magnificence and rich musical imagination, MASTODON unleash Leviathan, an unabated testimonial to the band's earthshaking ability to rock. MASTODON's thundering musical muscle, talent and vast sea of ideas triumphantly unite on Leviathan, delivering heavy, organic music that melds exhilarating ambitiousness with a well-honed accessibility. Leviathan's staggering proportion, unstoppable momentum and anthemic roar wholly underlines MASTODON's vibrant spirit and majestic, heartfelt delivery. MASTODON isn't just a band you hear, it's something you feel deep down. Its pulse affects you.

Customer Reviews:

Leviathan is a monster........2007-07-30

A veritable sound explosion. Mastodon is the atypical metal band that had to happen to the metal scene. This album is simply amazing. If you like unsual change ups in your music, a varying of the wall of sound, then Leviathan is for you. Mastodon is being called the new Metallica, and I won't argue. There are other bands I could claim for that mantle, but in considering Mastodon's masterpiece here, I don't think I can do so honestly. You deserve the best metal album your money can buy. Spend wisely and pick up "Leviathan."

They should be renamed MAS TE DAN.......2007-07-19

Seriously because their albums are the gift that keeps on giving. They get better with every subsequent listen. The first time this music comes through your speakers you become dizzy because of the intensity and constant shifts in tempo but if you let go of the reins and abandon yourself to the rythm you can perceive its true beauty.

Definitely makes you wanna bang your head . . ........2007-05-18

. . . but for all the wrong reasons!

My cat hates me now.

You know how cats do that thing with their ears, when they hear a noise that really annoys them? You're gonna feel the same way.

My houseplants have also suddenly wilted.

I bought this album because I am big fan of "Moby Dick," and I read (in Andrew Delbanco's recent biography of Melville) that the lyrics were in large part inspired by the 1851 classic.

Big mistake.

First of all, not all of the songs deal with ol' Mobsie. There are a couple, such as "Joseph Merrick, "Iceland," and "Megalodon" that have nothing to do, as far as I can see, with Melville's book.

And for those few song whose lyrics do indeed have something to do with "Moby-Dick" (not that you'll be able to decipher the orcish growling that has been used here instead of singing), they engage with the novel in a very unimaginative and superficial way.

Here's an example of the kind of astute literary exegesis you'll be in store for if you buy this album:

"Time and space
All alone
It can be a lonely place
There it goes
Opening up
I can't stand
I can't breathe
Rolled fin out
Oil stripped
Hold is filled"

Real deep, huh? Leslie Fiedler, move over.

As for the music, as with any death metal, you've really got to listen to these tunes many times before it sinks its claws into you and you get a groove going. In the case of this album, that will require several dozen listenings, I imagine. Possibly several thousand.

Yeah, I knew it was "thrash metal" when I bought it. I just didn't realize how "thrashy" it was. Perhaps a "thrashometer" on the CD case would have been helpful.

[...].

Seriously, I can't trash this thrash unreservedly, though. You gotta give it this: it's got an awesome cover, it's cleanly mixed, and the band members are undeniably capable. In fact, if this sort of thing is your bag, I imagine you might be quite satisfied with this purchase.

Another masterpiece from this mammoth metal band.......2007-05-09

Blood Mountain, their newest cd, is considered by many to be their best cd. I agree with that, but this is another masterpiece. I think that their entire catalog is amazing, and if you are a true metal fan, do yourself a favor and get with the program. I don't believe that anyone does metal better than these guys.

Why didn't my review go through?.......2007-04-23

Oh well, maybe this one will go through. I'll keep it short, sweet, and to the point.

This CD frickin' rules! The boys from Mastodon are geniuses! What better way to give respect to "Moby-Dick" (a great book, btw!) than with a hard-hitting, rock 'em-sock 'em, romper-stomper album that brings a new meaning to the phrase "Heavy Metal." If you don't have this album, than by the power of Ahab, get it! Your ears will seriously thank you for it and you won't regret the purchase one bit!

Quick Scorebook of the Songs:
1. Blood and Thunder - 5/5
2. I Am Ahab - 5/5
3. Seabeast - 5/5
4. Island - 5/5
5. Iron Tusk - 5/5
6. Megalodon - 5/5
7. Naked Burn - 5/5
8. Aqua Dementia - 5/5
9. Hearts Alive - 10/5
10. Joseph Merrick - 5/5

HIGHLIGHTS: "Blood and Thunder," "Seabeast," "Island," "Megalodon," "Aqua Dementia," and "Hearts Alive." "Joseph Merrick" is such a beautiful way to end the album!

So like I said, this, along with "Blood Mountain," is highly recommended for you metal fans! Now to go purchase "Remission."

Average customer rating:

Leviathan is a monster.
They should be renamed MAS TE DAN
Definitely makes you wanna bang your head . . .
Another masterpiece from this mammoth metal band
Why didn't my review go through?

Leviathan
Mastodon
Manufacturer: Relapse
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Post Hardcore | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Remission
Blood Mountain
Blood Mountain
Call of the Mastodon
Ashes of the Wake

ASIN: B0002SVU3Q
Release Date: 2004-08-31

Tracks:

Blood and Thunder
I Am Ahab
Seabeast
land
Iron Tusk
Megalodon
Naked Burn
Aqua Dementia
Hearts Alive
Joseph Merrick

Tracks:

Naked Burn [5.1 Surround][*]
Aqua Dementia [5.1 Surround][*]
Hearts Alive [5.1 Surround][*]
Where Strides the Behemoth [DVD][Live][*]
Battle at Sea [DVD][Live][*]
Thank You for This/We Built This Come Death [DVD][Live][*]
Crusher Destroyer [DVD][Live][*]

Album Description

"MASTODON are undoubtedly the future of metal" - KERRANG! "at that same cusp where METALLICA once perched, circa 1988's " And Justice For All. MASTODON is poised to rule the rock earth"

- WASHINGTON POST / EXPRESS "MASTODON could be considered the second coming of Metallica and Rush combined, and nobody who's seen them live could counter that opinion."

- MTV.com

Customer Reviews:

Leviathan is a monster........2007-07-30

They should be renamed MAS TE DAN.......2007-07-19

Definitely makes you wanna bang your head . . ........2007-05-18

Another masterpiece from this mammoth metal band.......2007-05-09

Why didn't my review go through?.......2007-04-23

Average customer rating:

Four and a half stars for this sick and scary soundtrack
Post-Black-Metal
All Hail
a whole new level of black metal
Perfect SDBM

Tentacles of Whorror
Leviathan
Manufacturer: Napalm
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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General | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Metal | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Death Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

The Tenth Sub Level of Suicide
To Violate the Oblivious
Telepathic With the Deceased
Satanic Black Devotion
Terror Propaganda: Second Black Metal Attack

ASIN: B0002NY8OO
Release Date: 2004-08-17

Tracks:

What Fresh Hell
Heir To The Noose Of Ghoul
Cut, With The Night, Into Mine Heart
A Bouquet Of Blood For Skull
Deciphering Legend Within The Serpents Briar
A Necessary Mutilation
Vexed And Vomit Hexed
Tentacles Of Whorror (Revel The Tyrant)
Requiem For A Turd World
Blood Red And True P.3 (Plummeting Obscurity)
Mouth Orifice Bizarre
The History Of Rape

Album Description

Following last year's definitive black metal highlight, Leviathan returns and your Whorror is about to begin! Prolific madman Wrest again challenges both his creative capabilities and the conventional trappings of "black metal". Witness what happens when the "rules" of black metal are thrown out, yet its true artistic essence is upheld. Witness what it's like within the Tentacles of Whorror.

"The Future of Black Metal." - ANVIL MAGAZINE "Simply, the most mesmerizing, transcendental Black Metal ever put to tape."- TERRORIZER

Customer Reviews:

Four and a half stars for this sick and scary soundtrack.......2006-11-21

This album may be part of a series of albums I am developing as part of an Amazon.com Listmania entitled "Soundtracks to the scariest Halloween haunted houses". There are black metal albums that could be deemed the soundtracks to hell, i.e. 1349's "Hellfire" or any of Dark Funeral's albums, but Leviathan, as well as Xasthur, Emperor's "In the Nightside" and "Anthems...", a few of Cradle of Filth albums (yes, to the uninitiated, the average Cradle of Filth album prior to "Damnation..." sounds scary indeed), to name a few, could be ideally used as the soundtracks to something you would hear in a nice, creepy Halloween haunt.

That said, I have found there are two ways to listen to this album: either in a Halloween haunted house over loud speakers (perhaps a real haunted house, if you believe in such), or through your headphones in a darkened room or walking through a forest at nighttime. To borrow a cliché about a lot of Burzum-inspired black metal music, atmosphere is key here. If you commit yourself and all of your auditory as well as visual sensibilities to playing this album in dark surroundings, as opposed to listening to it on your car stereo in the middle of the day, then the phrase "transcendental black metal" will be quite fitting. You will feel the dark mood of the album affect you as each track goes through multiple layers of composition; the combination of grinding blast beats, buzzing riffs, and even uncanny guitar picking at the beginning and end of on "What Fresh Hell"; the slow rhythm and buzzing guitar riffs on "Deciphering Legend Within The Serpent's Briar", which develops near the end of the track into a turbulent windstorm of ambient noise and chants by Wrest, leading into the soft and melancholy drone of "A Necessary Mutilation" (my favorite part of the album is the transition between these two phenomenal tracks).

I could go on about all the other tracks, but you should get the idea from both the aforementioned descriptions on my part as well as the other Amazon.com reviewers that this is a multi-layered, multi-dimensional album that sets the mood for everything that is grim and macabre. Wrest appears to have gone through pain-staking production efforts to create the atmosphere and echoes of an individual screaming and moaning in a dark forest or even at the bottom of a well somewhere in a deserted town, and again, I believe the experience comes down to where and how you listen to this album.

There are some weak points at the tail end , namely, the bland drum hook that introduces "Mouth Orifice Bizarre", and the even more bland and redundant atmospheric drone of "The History of Rape". Both songs will probably have their respective defenders, but these tracks do the rest of "Tentacles..." no justice in my humble opinion. As a result, I docked the album half a star, which may seem somewhat marginal but I cannot say "Tentacles..." is flawless. I can say that the album, after repeated listens, has exceeded my expectations for low-fi, atmospheric, bleak, and "Halloween-haunted-house-soundtrack" black metal.

Post-Black-Metal.......2006-02-20

To be perfectly blunt, I don't listen to all that much Black Metal. There are still a number of really great bands out there, and Leviathan is one of the best. This album is pretty different from their last (well, his last, since it's just one guy), as it's got quite a bit better production and is less purist, with something of a post-rock flavor to it at times. This will potentially upset a few utter diehards, but most rational individuals can tell that this doesn't even the slightest hint of commercialism. And the better production is still far from sharp and professional. Basically, it means that they turned the white noise generator down to low and actually miced the drums. Personally I like this approach, because as much as I like 'The Tenth Sub-Level of Suicide' I get the impression that the impact would wear off eventually if Wrest didn't change things up a little. And, despite the different approach, 'Tentacles of Whorror' has much the same tone as that album, though it is perhaps not quite as dark.

The album starts out a bit more straight forward for the first 4 or so tracks, mostly just lotsa speedy, raw black metal riffs with a few interludes and a couple slightly thrashier riffs thrown in at a few points. (Rather reminds me of Sepultura's 'Schizophrenia' at a few points.) There's quite a bit more slow, atmospheric stuff in the second half of the album, particularly the haunting and low-key second half of 'Vexed and Vomit Hexed' and the endless droning title track. There is also some ambient electronic flavoring as well, which works pretty nicely. (Particularly note the bizarre, minimalist closing track, 'The History of Rape') Overall I'd say the slower, more ambient stuff is probably more memorable, though the more purely BM material is still very good. Some of the best I've heard, as a matter of fact. Also, Wrest remains one of the most powerful black metal shriekers around, with great distorted howling and croaking. Very eerie stuff.

Yeah, I like it.

All Hail.......2005-11-10

One of the most trance inducing black metal I have heard since 'Transylvanian Hunger'. An absolute must have.

a whole new level of black metal.......2005-10-30

California has been the surprise breeding ground for some excellent black metal in recent years. with Xasthur, Ludicra, Crebain, and the prolific one man black metal assault that is Wrest, the mastermind behind Leviathan. i got my first taste of Leviathan's dark, art-damaged music on the Verrater release; which was a double disc set of old demos released on the excellent Tumult record label. i was blown away by that cd...and that was only a collection of demos; how good could a real full-length be? well, the supremely-titled Tentacles Of Whorror does not dissapoint. in fact, it only goes deeper into the underlit dank cavern of Leviathan's twisted and bleak audio devilry. his vocals are truly chilling, laced with distortion almost to the point of being overblown, it adds a tremendous paranoid and frenzied feeling to the music. this is a one man black metal band, and like most one man bands of this ilk (Burzum, Benighted Leams, etc.) the music adheres to a distinct and tightly executed vision. Wrest is in total control over every single element to this music and it's grip on the listener is overwhelming and impressive. this is dirty, filthy, black metal; filled with buzzsaw guitars, fast drumming, howling agonizing vocals, and hateful sentiments. but along with all of these grim BM traditions, there's plenty of forward thinking as well. the compositions involve multiple time changes, spooky ambient interludes, and a tasteful sense of artiness that makes me think that Wrest is influenced as much by progressive rock, thrash, drone, and experimental music as much as metal made by his fellow blackened bretheren. this is not to say that this isn't "true" black metal; because it is. there are no rap cameos or funky beats littering up this harsh landscape; but there are plenty of subtle touches that enforce the quality and power of this unique and essential black metal thunder (from sunny California, of all places!). hail!

Perfect SDBM.......2005-10-05

I will be minimalist about writing this. There is not one flaw on this record. I could go on for years about every aspect ov this record. But screw that. If you want depressive black metal, look no further than this californian SDBM. Suicidal, cold grim. Just a few ov the adjectives i could use describing this. Not for the weak, or Posour Fan.

Average customer rating:

FIREWIND
Masters of metal!!!
MetalNetRadio.com
Not as good as I expected
Awesome heavy CD!

Burning Earth
Firewind
Manufacturer: Leviathan
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Forged by Fire
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ASIN: B0000UJLFK
Release Date: 2003-11-11

Tracks:

Steal Them Blind
I Am The Anger
Immortal Lives Young
Burning Earth
The Fire And The Fury
You Have Survived
Brother's Keeper
Waiting Still
The Longest Day

Customer Reviews:

FIREWIND.......2005-01-19

Firewind appears to have gathers some great musical talent here. The vocalist is strong and the sound of the music is quite powerful. What you get here is heavy metal with a slight power metal feel to it. Not euro power metal but more in the vein of Malmsteen, Kenziner etc.

This is the only release I have from Firewind. It starts off with a great opening track STEAL THEM BLIND. The sound of the guitars roaring through your speakers gets you pumped and the vocals rip. The next song I AM THE ANGER is also very good and is the single from the album. It's a little repetitive but it is short, to the point and very catchy. The problem for this album is the song writing seems to have take a vacation after the first two or three tracks. Lyrically they start getting into some "do gooder" type messages in the lyrics. Even some environmental stuff. I have nothing against the environement but for some reason envoironementalist lyrics and heavy metal just don't seem to work well together. In fact, I don't think environmental messages work in songs in general. I'm not sure why, they just don't.

Anyway, like I said I love the sound and the musicians on hand here but the songwriting is just not consistant enough to keep my interest. The more mid tempo they go the worse they get. They need to stay really aggressive for a whole album. Then I would be like , WOW these guys kick butt!

For now, a good album but a very mixed bag. Tons of potential though. 2.5 of 5 stars in my book.

Masters of metal!!!.......2004-05-14

Firewind does it again. At first this album didn't kick me in the face like their previous one (between heaven and hell) but after repeated listens I will have to say this is superior to it. The song writing has really matured as well as the lyrics. But maturity doesn't mean they've softened up, this is one HEAVY and dark album. The only exception being "brothers keeper" which kicks so much [back]BECAUSE it's so different from the rest of the album. If you liked between heaven and hell or are just a fan of pure metal I strongly suggest this album.

A word of warning, some of you may not be prepared for the pure metal power of "the fire and the fury". If you have a weak heart I suggest you prepare yourself for this one, it might end up killing you!!!

MetalNetRadio.com.......2004-03-03

Firewind - Burning Earth

Band Website - www.firewind.gr

Label - Leviathan Records / www.leviathanrecords.com

Burning Earth is Firewind's second cd, I was a big fan of the first cd so I had high hopes that the second cd was equally as good or even better. There is a new rhythm section on this release, Out is Brian Harris (Drums) & Honstantine (Bass)...In is Stian Kristoffersen (Drums) from the band Pagan's Mind and Petros Christo (Bass) from the band Breaking Silence (one of my personal favorite bands). Back on vocals and doing another killer job is Stephen Fredrick (Kenziner) and of course on guitar the 23 year old axe slinger, phenom, man of many bands Gus G. (Dream Evil, Mystic Prophecy, Nightrage).

The First thing that you will notice about this cd is the awesome artwork, a lot of bands seem to forget about their album as being a complete package. Firewind hasn't and the cover and package fits perfectly with the albums title and theme "Burning Earth". There are 9 tracks on this offering and not a weak track to be heard. All are in the Power Metal vein with good energy and groove highlights for me are the tracks `Brother's Keeper', `Immortal Lives Young' & `The Longest Day'. Gus G. offers up tons of licks to keep all the guitarists out there happy and the Fredrick has you pounding your fist in the air to the anthems he is belting out.

This album to me may be my favorite Power Metal cd of 2003, it gives you everything that you want, and best of all it keeps you coming back for more, and it still hasn't left my cd changer!!!

9.0 / 10.0

Waysted from MetalNetRadio.com

Track Time: 44:45

Track Listing:

01 Steal Them Blind

02 I Am The Anger

03 Immortal Lives Young

04 Burning Earth

05 The Fire & The Fury

06 You Have Survived

07 Brother's Keeper

08 Waiting Still

09 The Longest Day

Not as good as I expected.......2004-02-16

When I first heard Between Heaven & Hell I was blown away. Here was an album worth listening to again, and again, and again. I got to the end of the first song and said, this is awesome! And I just HAD to listen to that song over again.

I thought the same would happen for burning earth. I was wrong.

It's a good album, but nothing really blew me away. There was only one song, #5, where I thought after, that I wanted to relisten to it again right away.

However, on Heaven & Hell, I had that feeling, that desire, on songs 1,2,3,5,6,7,9,10,11 & 12. (4 and 8 I thought were basically the same song...) It took me days just to get through the entire cd just because I kept replaying the same songs over and over again. They were THAT damn good.

Heaven & Hell songs had awesome hooks. The rhythms just infect you and before you know it, you're foot is tapping, your head is nodding...

Only one time, during the first minute of song #5, I got that silly grin on my face, my head started nodding, I sat forward in my chair, here it was I thought! FINALLY! After 4 so-so songs, a song that had my attention. But that was pretty much it. Just like "Oceans" on Between Heavan & Hell, song #5 on Burning earth was just way too short, almost an incomplete idea. It's like they were playing, and somebody just started the fade out even though the song wasn't done. Maybe it was an accident, I don't know. The second (and only other) instrumental song on Between Heaven & Hell wasn't like that at all! A complete song.

So, bottom line, if you're a fan of this genre, you'll enjoy Burning wind. It's good for a spin here and there. But I'd say I was pretty disapointed compared to Heaven & Hell.

When I got Heaven & Hell, I thought to myself, from this point forward, FIREWIND is my new favorite band. Heaven & Hell remains, and will remain, one of my favorite all time cd's, but as far as FIREWIND is concerned, they're no longer at the top of my list. The last band that fell off the top of my list was on their 10th album before they crapped out, so, this is like a world record for the rise and fall, in my humble opinion...

Awesome heavy CD!.......2003-12-04

This is Firewind's second album, a follow-up to last year's "Between Heaven and Hell". This album features the incredible Gus G on guitar and Stephen Frederick on vocals. However, Brian Harris does not play drums on this one, being replaced by Stian Kristoffersen. The songs seem even more in-your-face than the debut and even though Frederik Nordstrom produced both albums, the new album sounds even thicker and fuller than the debut (which I thought sounded great).

As for the songs, they are almost all up-tempo. There are no cover tunes (the first disc featured a Scorpions cover) and there's not much in the way of ballads, like with Gus G's. other band, Dream Evil. Highlight tracks include "Brother's Keeper" (great lyrics and songwriting dynamics), "The Longest Day" (anti-war anthem) and "Waiting Still". "The Fire and The Fury" features a rhythm part that would probably give most guitarists tendonitis if they attempted to play it.

Overall, this is a fantastic metal release. If you like your rock without the dreaded "cookie monster" vocals or rap (Stepehn sounds like a more intense Graham Bonnett) and if you dig talented musicians, this is a great purchase.

The Tenth Sub Level of Suicide
Average customer rating:

Reminiscing the Past of Black Metal While Hanging to a Future

I find all the five star ratings a bit odd.

Audio Rape...

This is brilliant black album

4.5. Cacophonous, but sad and beautiful too

The Tenth Sub Level of Suicide
Leviathan
Manufacturer: Napalm
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Tentacles of Whorror

To Violate the Oblivious

Satanic Black Devotion

Telepathic With the Deceased

Terror Propaganda: Second Black Metal Attack

ASIN: B0000A0DWT
Release Date: 2003-07-22

Tracks:

Introit
Fucking Your Ghost in Chains of Ice
Sardoniscorn
Bitter Emblem of Dissolve
Scenic Solitude and Leprosy
Ye Whom Shadows Move Towards
Submersed
Mine Molten Armor
Idiot Sun
At the Door to the Tenth Sub Level of Suicide

Customer Reviews:

Reminiscing the Past of Black Metal While Hanging to a Future.......2007-07-12

Not much I can say that hasn't already been said.

This is a great CD. It has the weird and proggy aspects of new black metal combined with the raw, melancholic fury of old black metal. The CD is full of suicide screams of fury and sorrow. The musician in charge of the production did a good job. This CD is definitely reserving a spot in my favorites.

While Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, and new Emperor may be fine with most people, this CD is great for any classic black metal fan (and maybe modern black metal fans too). Be sure to support the one-man band behind this masterpiece and buy this CD.

I find all the five star ratings a bit odd........2007-06-20

The fact that not one person gave this album anything below a five star rating really blows me away.

Personally, I believed this album to be atrocious. The production is horrible, the vocals sound as if some sort of pig-like animal is having a petrifying heart attack, and I don't think the execution of some of the instrumentals could be worse. The drums in some songs sound like Wrest is just blindly pounding away while incredibly high on E. The rest of instrumental playing is mediocre, but definitely not anything to rave about. Basically all of it sounds like one muffled mess.

I wouldn't waste your money on this.

Audio Rape..........2005-10-13

From the title of this review you might think I was reviewing some low brow goregrind CD (I'm not)... This is indeed the the equivalent of listening to someone being brutally raped and murdered with a dagger of ice. Leviathan's musick has so many dimensions it's incredible. From the walls of noise (Introit), the hyper (I don't want to say "punk") guitar riffs (Mine Molten Armor), beautiful interludes (Submersed), and the throat-slashing, merciless guitar riffs that make up most of the CD. A amazing expression of hate and isolation, depression and death. Five stars seems unjust...

1) Introit - Very creepy, best. intro. ever.

2) F-cking Your Ghost in Chains of Ice - Not only an brilliant song title, but contains the single greatest guitar riff-f-cking ever! (around 2:28 mintues into the song), The vocals are just sick. My 2nd favorite song.

3) Sardoniscorn - Pretty long song, clocking in at about nine minutes. Awesome.

4) The Bitter Emblem of Dissolve - Gastly, ghost-like vocals, another steller song.

5) Scenic Solitude and Leprosy - This song contains another brilliant guitar riff around the last minute of the song, killer opening.

6) He Whom Shadows Move Towards - Sounds like "Bitter Emblem...", pretty good song.

7) Submersed - A beautifully composed syth song (does that belong on an album like this?)... just listen to it and you'll understand.

8) Mine Molten Armor - The guitar riffs on this song are just f-cking killer, great bass part six minutes into the song, the lyrics are anti-cHRISTIAN, and would cause anyone to burn down a church!

9) The Idiot Sun - A somewhat melodic song, very good.

10) At the Door to the Tenth Sub Level of Suicide - This is the climax of the entire album, and worth the 12 dollars along, Blazing guitars and furious blastbeats, hostile shreaks and howls. Cold. I was able to decipher two words - "bitter poison", those three words give me internal/eternal frostbite everytime I hear Wrest spit them out... The last three minutes sound like some horrific struggle of the soul, between divinity and the inevitable darkness...

This is by far one of my favorite CDs, and prehaps one of the best BM albums EVER made. I would strongly suggest it to any one with the appreciation for brilliant USBM...

This is brilliant black album.......2005-04-26

This is truly a brilliant album. The black metal as it SHOULD be, which puts in shame poseurs like Dimmu Borgir and COF; lyrical concept is GREAT, depht-based... Naturally, after The Tenth Sub Level of Suicide you feel yourself in the very deep underworld of the sorrow's ocean... And "SUBMERSED" - in my personal humble opinion, of course - this is THE BEST instrumental ambient track ever written.
At the whole, this album is very depressive and makes you wish you were dead - which is the primary goal of a true black metal music, so since it's achieved, it can proudly deserve this title. And surely, this album does.

4.5. Cacophonous, but sad and beautiful too.......2005-04-05

Black Metal is definitely not one of my favorite metal styles, but at it's best it can be about as good as anything out there. Still, I'd grown a little leery of more BM as of late, because the last couple albums I'd got hadn't been so thrilling. So, It's a good thing I took another chance and got some Leviathan. This isn't quite the best Black Metal I've ever heard, but it's definitely up there.

This is some fairly hardcore music, though there's definitely some dirtier, rougher stuff out there. All recorded on 4-track, and it's pretty static-laden and thin, but it's not the sort of wall of static you sometimes hear, and you can still make out most of the instruments out fairly well. I think this has about the right balance, as the production gives it the distinctive Black metal flavoring, w/o becoming needlessly and irritatingly rough. This is a one man band,(He calls himself Wrest) and the musicianship is generally pretty basic, but that sorta stuff matters very little for BM of this sort. He is a great vocalist however. Definitely one of the best I've heard in a Black Metal band. It's a tortured, distorted and mangled roar, definitely a lot better then the sorta mildly ill croak you here quite a bit.

The album is about 72 minutes long, with 8 actual songs, so this is some moderately epic black metal. This album is actually fairly moderately paced, though they blast away quite a bit of the time, and it's got quite a few minimalistic breaks. Some people only like their BM at topspeed, but I think it often works best when you give the music some space to breathe. Some of the tracks don't really have all that many different riffs or parts, considering their lengths, but it never gets boring, which is all that really matters.

The songs generally aren't wildly different from one another, but they can be distinguished readily, with a little effort. 'The Bitter Emblem of Dissolve' is probably my favorite track. It's one of the shorter tracks, but it all works, with some powerfully atmospheric and melodic guitarwork, and Wrest's most frightful, otherworldly vocal performance. The mellow ending section is excellent too, with more nice melody that still fits the whole tone of the song well. 'Sardoniscorn' probably comes in second. It's most notable for the awesome minimalist middle break, with some great piano and more tortured vox. (You belong to us!!) The rest of the song is great too, though. 'The Idiot Sun' is another standout, being perhaps the slowest track here. It's a painful, roaring dirge, with another one of Wrest's best vocal performances. 'Submersed' is excellent too. It's just a repetitive little electronic outro, but it's really quite affecting, and fits the mood of the album well. 'At the Door to the Tenth Sub Level of Suicide' is the epic closer. Overall, it is perhaps just average for the album, but it comes to a stirring, genuinely powerful crescendo about 10 minutes in, with the sorta epic feel that reminds me of the best moments of the great Weakling. It definitely provides a good sorta exclamation point to the album.

Yeah, that's it. This is good Black Metal.

Average customer rating:

THE BEST OF USBM... ONLY FOR THE TRULY MISANTHROPIC... SCENESTERS, ELITE BLACK METAL WANNABES, AND HIPSTERS GET LOST!
u.s. bm at it's finest

Xasthur/Leviathan
Xasthur , and Leviathan
Manufacturer: Southern Lord
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Leviathan/Sapthuran
The Tenth Sub Level of Suicide
Telepathic With the Deceased
Tentacles of Whorror
To Violate the Oblivious

ASIN: B000E6G7E8
Release Date: 2006-07-25

Tracks:

The Eerie Bliss And Torture
Keeper Of Sharpened Blades
Conjuration Of Terror
Instrumental
Achieve Emptiness
Telepathic With The Deceased
Palace Of Frost
Unfailing Fall Into Naught
The Remotest Cipher
Where The Winter Beats Incessant

Customer Reviews:

THE BEST OF USBM... ONLY FOR THE TRULY MISANTHROPIC... SCENESTERS, ELITE BLACK METAL WANNABES, AND HIPSTERS GET LOST!.......2007-01-09

First ov all, do not listen to any of the Leviathan and Xasthur haters that have popped up over the past year or so... They are just jealous that their bedroom projects haven't had as much success as these two guys have had. And, ov covrse, one shouldn't worry about this not being kvlt because, as I see it, this music is beyond anything that the US scene has unleashed so far (besides I Shalt Become). This music is not for the so-called elitist black metal wannabes who jump onto the bandwagon of hating any band that has any marginal amount of success... Jealously? But, also, this music isn't for the trendy hipsters who found out about these guys through Sunn o))) (Sunn o))) is a decent band, yeah, but all of you trendy scenesters and hipsters need to DIE). This is cold, misanthropic misery caught on tape! This is isolationist music made by two guys who spend all of their time in complete and utter solitude... where they have perfected their craft. This isn't party music. This music isn't for your usual run of the mill meathead heavy metal fan either. This music wasn't made for you to socialize and feel like you belong in some kind of "special" group... this music was made in order to make you feel like a complete and utter failure! This CD will help you dig your own grave... It will fill your mind with beautiful suicidal thoughts!

u.s. bm at it's finest.......2006-07-27

this album is seemless fron xasthur to leviathan. there are two natable songs on this disc that are covers( and damn good ones at that).i do believe the first one is achieve emptieness by katatonia and covered by xasthur(don't quote me but amazon doesn't list all album info so i may have the wrong song)and the second and most notable track is where the winter beats incessant by judas iscariot and covered by leviathan. this is grim cold and raw black metal for only true fans.

Average customer rating:

Third Time Is the Charm
Southern Gentlemen
Manufacturer: Leviathan
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Blues Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

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Double Your Pleasure
Exotic Dancer Blues
LONG HARD ROAD
SIMPLIFY YOUR VISION
Acid Blues Experience

ASIN: B000EHQ7YC
Release Date: 2006-04-04

Tracks:

Even Now
It's Not True
I Don't Want You
I'm Down
Caught You Redhanded
Broken Man
Heaven Help Me Now
Going Down To Texas
Don't Go
Love Train
Reflections
Ladies Of The Night

Average customer rating:

The 7th and the Voice
Chastain
Manufacturer: Leviathan
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
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Sick Society
Two for One
In Dementia
Keeper of the Seven Keys: Legacy World Tour
Liberty or Death

ASIN: B0002PUHCY
Release Date: 2004-07-20

Tracks:

We Must Carry On
Paradise
It's Too Late For Yesterday
827
The Wicked Are Restless
The 7th Of Never
Take Me Back In Time
Feel His Magic
Forevermore
The Voice Of The Cult
Live Hard
Chains Of Love
Share Yourself With Me
Fortune Teller
Child Evermore
Soldiers Of The Flame
Evil For Evil
Take Me Home

Average customer rating:

Somewhat like Humble Pie with a progressive twist-- 3.5 stars

Leviathan
Leviathan
Manufacturer: Akarma Italy
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Outside the Law
Smokin' Bats at Camptons
Czar
The Real
Irish Coffee

ASIN: B00004UFZZ
Release Date: 2004-08-16

Tracks:

Arabesque
Angela
Endless Dream
Seagull
Angel of Death
Always Need You
Quicksilver Clay

Album Description

Originally released on London Records in 1974, this is heavy progressive american rock at it's best, strongly influenced by English prog of the same period. Paper gatefold sleeve packaging.

Customer Reviews:

Somewhat like Humble Pie with a progressive twist-- 3.5 stars.......2006-05-01

I remember this l.p. from 1974 on underground fm radio. In those days my friends and I thought they sounded a bit like Humble Pie, with a dash of Trapeze and early Uriah Heep. There is real talent here although the sound is somewhat dated featuring heavy guitars combined with mellotrons, piercing vocals, and mystical lyrics.

On the other hand, it was, after all, released in 1974 and it is really pretty good. For fans of early seventies hard rock with a slightly progressive twist this album will have definite appeal; but the reason I bought it on c.d. was mostly of nostalgic curiousity. Interestingly, the original l.p. was on Mach Records distributed by London, and the l.p. was recorded in Memphis for Hi Recording Corp! Yes, that's Al Green and Willie Mitchell's ground zero.

As a Memphian, I wish I knew a little more about Leviathan. At that particular time in the city we were really into the Who, Big Star, the Stones, and Bowie (all still favorites). Stax and Hi were still churning out soul classics but business problems would soon overtake them.

The music of progressive type bands like Leviathan was becoming passe' very quickly, but the perspective of thirty two years might have made me unduly critical; this c.d. is better than I expected it to be.

Average customer rating:

POWER metal not FLOWER metal
When you want the very best...
Firewind raaaaaaging!
BLAZING METAL WITH SOME CLASS!!
BLAZING METAL WITH SOME CLASS!!

Between Heaven & Hell
Firewind
Manufacturer: Leviathan
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Burning Earth
Forged by Fire
Regressus
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Allegiance

ASIN: B00006CTI3
Release Date: 2002-07-30

Tracks:

Between Heaven And Hell
Warrior
World Of Conflict
Destination Forever
Oceans
Tomorrow Can Wait
Pictured Life
Firewind Raging
I Will Fight Alone
Northern Sky
Fire
Who Am I

Customer Reviews:

POWER metal not FLOWER metal.......2005-07-03

Somebody please help me!! I've had the chorus for "warrior" stuck inside my head now for 2 days and I can't get rid of it.

I guess that's the price one has to pay for listening to a cd that is so damn appetizing. From start to finish it was like a rollercoaster ride that you thought was never going to end and were momentarily depressed when it did end but quickly realized that you can ride it all over again.

With this release Firewind have raised the metal bar to a new level that many peers in the genre will find difficult to rise to. After listening to Between heaven and hell all other metal bastions seem small and irrelevant. The majority of metal seems to run on two tracks - the track of melody and the track of brutality. Most bands seem to compromise one in order to achieve the other. Very rarely does a band successfully fuse them both together but Firewind has done just that and also manages to add creativity to the songwriting that makes each song stand on it's own rather than just recording one song ten times and disguising it as a full length album. You get the impression that these guys are sticklers when it comes to quality and don't just release whatever they record. There's probably alot of material that ended up on the cutting room floor. In other words they go through painstaking efforts to sift through all the rock to collect the gemstones and discard everything else.

OK that's it now. If you like blistering, headstrong power metal with a a heavy dose of POWER your collection won't be complete without this CD. I rarely give albums a perfect score but I think this one for certain deserves it.

When you want the very best..........2004-02-16

The following is from my review of Burning Wind, however, I talk about Heaven & Hell quite a bit, so I just pasted that review here:

It's a good album, but nothing really blew me away. There was only one song, #5, where I thought after, that I wanted to relisten to it again right away.

Heaven & Hell songs had awesome hooks. The rhythms just infect you and before you know it, you're foot is tapping, your head is nodding...

So, bottom line, if you're a fan of this genre, you'll enjoy Burning wind. It's good for a spin here and there. But I'd say I was pretty disapointed compared to Heaven & Hell.

Firewind raaaaaaging!.......2003-04-14

A while back a friend of mine came to my house praising this album as if it was a god and saying how the guitarist (Gus G) was the best new guitarist out there. Being a fan of Stephen Fredrick's other band Kenziner I had my bud shut up so I could hear the album and I then understood his excitement.

This is some blistering metal. Just when I think that I've heard all the great bands out there another one comes out to punch me in the face and Firewind did just that. Gus G may be the next Malmsteen only without so much of the guitar wanking. And Stephen is in top form here, belting out every song as if it was his last.

So if you want some scorching TRUE metal check out Firewind. You won't be dissapointed.

BLAZING METAL WITH SOME CLASS!!.......2003-02-13

I had seen some ads for this album but the first time I heard this band was when one of my best friends in Canada received a copy from his buddy in Greece. I must say his cover is way nicer looking then the US release but the cover will be the least of your worries when this music addresses your ears. This serving of super finely done speed / power metal fires off with a song that is also the album title and once you hear about four seconds you will be hooked. The entire album rocks as a whole and never relents or lets the true metal head down. On first listen lots of the songs sounded the same but upon further listens they are indeed individuals each to themselves. The guitarist may be young but man can this guy shred. The album is unique in that it was put together in so many different areas of the world too, with this added here and that added there.I would surely include this offering on my favorite album to listen to list. I am most certain that any metal head needs this one, cause if you don't have it and your friends do you will look uninformed., not to mention be without your daily requirement of important metal in your diet! I can hardly wait for the next one but this one will be hard to beat.The "Firewind" has blown alot of us away and lit the fire for more stuff like this one. Buy or cry!

BLAZING METAL WITH SOME CLASS!!.......2003-02-13

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