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Leviathan - The Tenth Sub Level Of Suicide review




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Reviewer:
9.4

99 users:
8.01
Band: Leviathan
Album: The Tenth Sub Level Of Suicide
Release date: 2003


01. Introit
02. Fucking Your Ghost In Chains Of Ice
03. Sardoniscorn
04. The Bitter Emblem Of Dissolve
05. Scenic Solitude And Leprosy
06. He Whom Shadows Move Towards
07. Submersed
08. Mine Molten Armor
09. The Idiot Sun
10. At The Door To The Tenth Sub Level Of Suicide

Well, i don't need to say too much about Wrest, Leviathan, his one-man project, is well-known in the underground circles of the black metal scene for some time now and "The Tenth Sub-Level Of Suicide" and "Tentacles Of Whorror" (especially the first one, at least in my opinion) have been acclaimed as masterpieces by the black metal audience that searches a bit more and won't sit down and wait for the new "messiah" that the big labels will present them, simply because the future of black metal lies in the underground.

After enough years of demo releases 2003 finally arrived and the first full-length of Leviathan finally saw the shining light of the razorblade, the name of it "The Tenth Sub Level Of Suicide" and i can assure you that its macabre title and nihilistic and desolate cover prepare the listener of what to expect, cold, suicidal and haunting black metal that will terrorize your tranquility and will for life! The overall atmosphere of the album is powerful and imposing, making the listener feel the torment, the pain, the hate within and "live" everythng Wrest wants to present through this omnipresent tragedy imprisoned in a single album of ten compositions with each one of them being a step closer to suicide. The guitars have that bitter razorblade sound that leaves figurative scars on the skin of the listener, they have a bit blurry sound but this makes the overall aesthetic of the compositions even more misty and chaotic, just like it has to be! The rhythm section, especially the bass lines, is not so present in the overall outcome due to the production of "The Tenth Sub Level Of Suicide", but worry not, the guitars and the overall noisy surrounding feeling "cover" in a genius way this "problem" and Wrest's tormented vocal lines fill the soundscape in the most appropriate way. Just listen to him screaming, could you ever imagine that a human being could ever sound so grieving,so desolate, so full of pain so as to sound so unearthly and condemned? I guess no, but Wrest's interpretation is definitely one of the best i have ever listened, without pretending to sound hopeless and bereaving, he lives every single verse he spits from deep inside and gives an interpretation that will haunt you for many nights and make you wonder where the fuck did he find the courage to violate (not the oblivious, hehe!) his throat! The album balances between more upbeat moments that escalate the emotional charge of the songs and more mid-tempo ones where the overall groove slows down in order to make the torment last longer and make the listener realise the art of sorrow and pain. All the gloom and all the pain have been blended together in a unique piece of macabre art coming straight from the tormented corridors of Wrest's nightmarish visions, 71 well-conceived and well-expressed minutes of nightmare and misanthropy.

From the razorblade approach and tormented aesthetic of "Fucking Your Ghost In Chains Of Ice" (those ultra groovy passages like the one from 2:29 to 2:53 are so goddamn awesome, aren't they?!) to the fiery nightmare and unearthly visions of "Scenic Solitude And Leprosy" and from the raging terror of "Mine Molten Armor" to the lengthy journey through scars and internal wounds of "At The Door To The Tenth Sub Level Of Suicide" this album will leave you lifeless, literally!

"The Tenth Sub Level Of Suicide" is a bloodstained sparkling diamond in the darkness, an album every black metal fan should own, but beware, by the moment the album reaches the end one thing is for sure, you have reached the place of "scenic solitude and leprosy" staring "at the door of the tenth sub level of suicide", the path lies up ahead, make your choice...


Rating breakdown
Performance: 9
Songwriting: 10
Originality: 9
Production: 9





Written on 03.06.2006 by "It is myself I have never met, whose face is pasted on the underside of my mind."


Comments

Comments: 4   Visited by: 182 users
09.09.2006 - 00:24
Basso
Account deleted
I am just starting to get into this album. But damn it grows on you so heavily. Im starting to really like this shit.
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18.07.2007 - 16:16
Rating: 8
Jiri

Leviathan kicks ass!
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19.06.2008 - 00:53
Toolshed

Holy shit,what a great album.I'm completely stunned.
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14.10.2009 - 22:00
Rating: 9
Plaguebearer

This album is definetly deserves more attention then it recieves
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