Leviathan [CD]

This was a bit of a gamble for me.I bought this album due to the reviews it was getting in Classic Rock and Kerrang.This is not something I usually do as I buy most of the time on impulse.
I wasn't dissapointed! The musicianship contained on this cd is incredible.From a drummers point of view this is highly technical stuff with most songs composed with loads of fills and very jazz like patterns.
It is also enormously heavy in places but also gentle in other parts.
It does take a few listens to get into it but bear with it. You'll get to a point,like myself,where you cannot stop listening to it as you get totally absorbed within its aural landscape.
You have no excuses.BUY THIS ALBUM NOW!!!!!

In the new millenium, the American metal scene has become clogged up with far too many stale, indistinguishable metalcore acts, such as Killswitch Engage and the DREADFUl Atreyu. However, a certain band called Mastodon stands out in that sea of mediocrity like the white whale on the album's cover. Why? Good question. That's partly becuase Mastodon mangaged to fuse together so many different subgenres of metal to create their own intense, utterly original sound. You may hear elements of Stoner's massive heaviness, thrash's intensity and prog rock's extreme complexity in their sound. Like their band name would suggest, Mastodon's sound is absolutely huge and unstoppable, but it is also very rhythmically complex and dexterous. This is mainly due to Brann Dailor's fill-heavy, jazz fusion-esque drumming. He underlies every song with drumming more complex than almost any other metal drummer could comprehend. The band made this unique style evident on their brutal debut album Remission. That was definitely a great album, but it pales in comparison to this.
Leviathan, the band's second album, is a loose concept album based on Herman Melville's classic book Moby Dick, a fitting story to base a heavy metal album on. However, Mastodon managed to create the PERFECT match for this book in their sound on Leviathan. The clear but dense production gives Leviathan a sound as bottomless and huge as an ocean. The vocals, although slightly more melodic and varied than on Remission, are still mostly harsh, aggressive barks to carry the intense nature of the songs. However, the vocals are occasionally eerie singing, as on the menacing, progressive Seabeast and the harmonic Naked Burn. Yet one of the album's main tricks is that the vocals aren't mixed to the very forefront like on most albums. Instead, they are less dominant and almost act as another instrument, so to speak.
As my description of Mastodon's sound may have suggested, Leviathan is absolutely mind blowing musically. The band are clearly highly skilled and show plenty of comlex chops. For example, opener Blood and Thunder gets underway with its thunderous, unstoppable riff and abrasive-but-cool vocals. It has one hell of a chorus and then the song moves into a stunningly technical, prog metal-style guitar bridge which brings the song to a great hight before it comes crashing back down again like a tidal wave. Other songs such as I Am Ahab contain brilliant intrumental breaks to add to the sense of tight band interplay. the band displays songwriting that borders on genius as songs morph from eerie clean guitar lines to violent riffing to complex guitar harmonies with ease and tempos often change. The complex song structures are part of what make this intense album brilliant. The album, however, is not always intense and quite diverse. The crunchingly heavy Iceland, Iron tusk and Megalodon are places alongside the calmer but still ominous Seabeast and Naked Burn and the acoustic/electric instrumental Joseph Merrick. My personal fave is the thirteen minute monster Hearts Alive. I wont spoil is but it contains one of the best riffs I've ever heard.
All in all Leviathan is more intense, focused and even accessible than Remission. Even with Blood Mountain released last year, I'd still say this is their best so far. The unique, complex and heavy sound of Leviathan is just mind-blowing and makes it one of the best metal albums of the last few years in my book. Modern Prog Metal at its very best, this is essential for any metalhead bored with the modern metal trends.

I've been waiting for this album for quite some time now. Their last album, remission, I've already worn out. You see, this album is like a fresh breath to the metal scene. And the reason why, is because it's good old times heavy metal given a modern sound. These days theres about a thousand records coming out each month, and everyone is trying to grab your attention with their new twists on musical styles and genres. Mastodon on the other hand, are keeping it old school but still very fresh. But that doesnt have to mean its any good, you ask. Why going backwards instead of forwards? Well, I guess in the same way that Lamb Of God have made thrash sound cool again, or the way that The Darkness have kickstarted the 80's rock scene again, Mastodon really gives you a good feeling about metal. Its fast, but not to frantic, its brutal, but its also mellow. And these guys have no problem letting it rip, with two members serving time in Today Is The Day and Lethargy. Its hard to explain, but this is just one of the best metal albums you'll ever hear. If you buy it and don't like it, you just don't like metal. If you need any directions as how the music sounds, try a mix of Metallica, Yes, Dillinger Escape Plan and Neurosis. And yes, it works, and sounds great.