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Mastodon - Leviathan review



Reviewer:
9.0

1031 users:
8.69
Band: Mastodon
Album: Leviathan
Release date: August 2004


01. Blood And Thunder
02. I Am Ahab
03. Seabeast
04. Island
05. Iron Tusk
06. Megalodon
07. Naked Burn
08. Aqua Dementia
09. Hearts Alive
10. Joseph Merrick

Everything comes in due time... Here is finally the long-awaited follow-up to their great debut Remission, released back in 2002. Two long years of intensive touring across the USA (mainly) have obviously sharpened their thirst for songwriting and their will to devastate our poor mistreated eardrums. Let's kill the suspense right now: this new offering, Leviathan, is far better than the aforementioned Remission. More varied also.

The first impression is that this album is quieter, but it soons proves to be nothing but a mere impression given by the fact that the vocals are more varied and less annoying than before. There is still this typical hardcore screaming, but the singer (couldn't figure out which one it is) masters his vocal chords much better now, and shows amazingly extended abilities when it comes to clean and almost charming singing. One word about the drums: the revelation of Remission is confirmed. Brann Dailor is a drum-hero. I hope that bands which, in the future, will try and cover Mastodon's songs, will have courageous drummers. There's a good ton of talent in this guy.

We now come to the core of Leviathan. Pardon me if I tell a load of bullshit in the following paragraph, but me poor Froggy not understand what they be saying. So for my atrophied comprehension, this album would be a concept based on Melville's Moby Dick. But I'm not sure at all. Whatever...

I am amazed at how unique Mastodon's music is. It is a blend of genres that seem as far from each other as possible (thrash, hardcore and stoner), but it goes like clockwork, without being messy, repetitive or annoying. On one song you think you're hearing a band a la Down ('Blood And Thunder', which is the successor of 'March Of The Fire Ants', the killer track of Remission), on the other it sounds like Neurosis ('Aqua Dementia', with guest appearance of Scott Kelly of Neurosis), in the middle you have bits a la The Dillinger Escapa Plan ('Megalodon'), some noisy hardcore ('Island') and even melodic passages like 'Seabeast( or 'Naked Burn' (two of the best songs, they are easy when it comes to being melodic).

Lots of influences as you see, but in the end all that remains is Mastodon, a band that sounds like no other, a band that despite bringing a good dose of complexity manages to remain groovy and catchy. I am now struck by a stupid thought: I have just noticed that Mastodon is probably one of the most talented bands of its generation. And Leviathan is one of the best albums I have heard so far in 2004. Deeply original.

Highlights: Blood And Thunder, Seabeast, Naked Burn, Aqua Dementia and the epic Hearts Alive

Written by Deadsoulman | 18.10.2004




Comments

Comments: 16   Visited by: 275 users
21.07.2006 - 17:58
Rating: 10
bangladesh

The best album from 2004 and 9 is nothing for the quality of this album.
Highlights without "I am Ahab", "Island", "iron Tusk" and "Megalodon"
This masterpiece don´t have highlights, all the album is a Highlight.
By the way, the melodic voices (as the agressive ones) are from the guitarist Brent Hinds, the genious of the colective. (Brann Dailor too of course).
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22.07.2006 - 06:44
Despised Icon
Account deleted
Blood and thunder, Iron Tusk, Megalodon are the highlights. Awesome sludge prog, ready for new album.
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22.07.2006 - 08:30
Darth Satanious
Post Destroyer
The whole album is a highlight I would say. I must also say that they had some guts using that idea of being in a party full of clowns in that video for the "Blood And Thunder" song but, regardless of how awkward the idea must seem, at the end the video came out to be pretty grim. The drumming in this album is pretty damn good, as it was in the previous one. I must say that my favorite song would be "Iron Tusk" off this album. I read that the album is indeed based in the book Moby Dick because one of the members (I cannot recall which one) was reading the book during touring so they got the idea from it. I luckily got my hands in the Limited Edition CD which contains the Audio DVD.

Good review.
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Christless
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28.09.2006 - 23:27
Rating: 10
bangladesh

Written by Darth Satanious on 22.07.2006 at 08:30

The whole album is a highlight I would say. I must also say that they had some guts using that idea of being in a party full of clowns in that video for the "Blood And Thunder" song but, regardless of how awkward the idea must seem, at the end the video came out to be pretty grim. The drumming in this album is pretty damn good, as it was in the previous one. I must say that my favorite song would be "Iron Tusk" off this album. I read that the album is indeed based in the book Moby Dick because one of the members (I cannot recall which one) was reading the book during touring so they got the idea from it. I luckily got my hands in the Limited Edition CD which contains the Audio DVD.

Good review.

It was Brann Dailor
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09.10.2006 - 20:16
Spyroid
Rosetta Stoned
I would say the highlight is Hearts Alive ^^ well I'm not a big fan of sludge/stoner with vocals, I prefer long, epic tracks which flows through differents riffs and feelings... great!
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08.12.2006 - 20:07
Rating: 8
Passenger
Lost To Apathy
Extreme awesomeness in the shape of a CD. 10/10
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You don't make up for your sins in church. You do it in the streets. You do it at home. The rest is bullshit and you know it ~ Mean Streets
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26.02.2007 - 08:36
Rating: 10
lenesu

Hearts Alive makes me cry. It is just so good... Trully epic.
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06.06.2007 - 16:00
Jotun_01
Account deleted
Not their best, but it is really good.
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30.01.2008 - 17:33
Rating: 9
+{Jonas}+
I R Serious Cat
Deffinitely this reviews on mastodon make me wnat to get into them.
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"Nobody wants to be the weird kid, you just end up being the weird kid. You don't know how you ended up getting there" - Rob Zombie

http://jonas-bs.deviantart.com My dA, mainly photography, go check it out!
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13.04.2008 - 11:48
Uirapuru
Liver Failure
good review. mastodon is spetacular.. i love specially the albuns with well-defined themes. this one. besides good musicially, is extreme original, and that makes it very special.
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member of the true crusade against old school heavy metal, early 80s thrash, NWOBHM, traditional doom, first and second wave black metal, old school death metal, US power metal, 70s prog rock and atmospheric doomsludgestoner. o/
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15.04.2008 - 11:12
BloodTears
ANA-thema
This is a very enjoyable album, I remember getting it after I saw them life and they were impressive. They don't disappoint on the record. Its very good stuff.
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29

Like you could kiss my ass.


My Instagram
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26.02.2010 - 06:46
Rating: 9
Entropic Silence

Just bought the Ltd DVD edition 2nd hand from my local... good shit. I'd give the album a 9... I prefer Blood Mountain.
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VICTORY!!!!! (They love it in France)
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05.10.2010 - 00:26
Rating: 10
Guib
Thrash Talker
Incredible Album indeed, Complex, Brutal, Soft, Groovy... Blending all that together pretty much describes Leviathan and to me it is probably one of the best recorded album of our generation. I can say with no doubt that Mastodon will leave a big bloody mark in the metal world... and inspire alot of new artists. They got guts to experiment and blend multiple genres together to prove that every kind of metal is enjoyable... I love this band and I hope they'll never stop making incredible music!
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- Headbanging with mostly clogged arteries to that stuff -
Guib's List Of Essential Albums
- Also Thrash Paradise
Thrash Here
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29.12.2010 - 03:24
Lit. Metalhead
Account deleted
It's just an awesome album, coming from a guy who avoids grindcore-like stuff as much as possible. Blood and Thunder being the highlight, the album just blasts through awesome pieces like I Am Ahab, Seabeast, Naked Burn and Aqua Demetia. Just when they finish with the epic Hearts Alive, they tone it down and off with the mesmerizing Joseph Merrick.
Beautiful album.
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29.12.2010 - 14:36
RavenKing

Written by Guest on 29.12.2010 at 03:24

It's just an awesome album, coming from a guy who avoids grindcore-like stuff as much as possible.


Hardcore, not grindcore.
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They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink
They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end
But everybody's only looking out for themselves
And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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12.09.2014 - 11:17
Fallen Ghost
Craft Beer Geek
Hearts Alive is immensely enjoyable, trying to get into this album!
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