Leviathan
The Tenth Sub Level of Suicide

November 2003
Released: 2003, Moribund Records
Rating: 2.5/5
Reviewer: Waspman

Man oh man is Moribund Records putting out some absolutely evil albums these days. Between this and Sargeist I can feel a palpable menace in the air. Definitely don’t listen to both of these bands one after the other – results may be catastrophic. Anyway, this album is Leviathan’s full length debut, after previously releasing a collection of demos and such a while back. Brutally cold and morbid to the core, Leviathan are the long-winded Burzum to Sargeist’s Darkthrone.

At ten tracks clocking in at a bloated 71:03, Leviathan has plenty of room to indulge in all manner of blackened musical atrocity. Problem is, I find the whole thing quite dull and repetitive, to the point where I can only stay interested for about half of the album before I start tuning out the howls and buzzing guitars. I don’t know what it is, but I just don’t find the songs all that good. They’re long, loping, labyrinthine behemoths that just seem to rage for 5 or 9 minutes, stop, and then begin again. Still there are some very good black metal moments on here, mostly in the one-two punch of “Mine Molten Armour” and “The Idiot Sun”, though the eerily strained howls on “He Whom the Shadows Move Towards” are truly chilling.

Maybe I’m just not “getting” this album, ‘cause this disc has been getting superb press since its release, but I just don’t hear the elite black metal that I’ve been led to believe is on here. That being said, I still respect the pure conviction and emotion put into this album. For the blackest of the black only.