Band : Mastodon
Album : Leviathan (Special Edition)
Release Year : 2004
Genre : Progressive | Metal | Sludge
Tracklist :
1. "Blood and Thunder" (Feat. Neil Fallon)
2. "I Am Ahab"
3. "Seabeast"
4. "Ísland"
5. "Iron Tusk"
6. "Megalodon"
7. "Naked Burn"
8. "Aqua Dementia" (Feat. Scott Kelly)
9. "Hearts Alive"
10. "Joseph Merrick"
Bonus Audio DVD
1. "Naked Burn" (5.1 Surround Sound)
2. "Aqua Dementia" (5.1 Surround Sound)
3. "Hearts Alive" (5.1 Surround Sound)
4. "Where Strides the Behemoth" (Live)
5. "Battle at Sea" (Live)
6. "Thank You for This / We Built This Come Death" (Live)
7. "Crusher Destroyer" (Live)
Leviathan is a concept album by progressive metal band Mastodon, released in 2004 by Relapse Records. The album is loosely based on the Herman Melville novel Moby-Dick, with the songs: "Iron Tusk", "Blood and Thunder", "I Am Ahab" and "Seabeast" released as singles. Three magazines awarded it Album of the Year in 2004: Revolver, Kerrang! and Terrorizer.
Leviathan was also released with an Audio DVD in a limited edition set with a black and gold slipcase. The album brought Mastodon great critical acclaim and, thanks to the ensuing tour, a considerably larger fan base. Leviathan had sold 103,000 copies by September, 2006. Guitarist Bill Kelliher considers this album to represent the water element.
Musically speaking, Leviathan simply scores across the span of the heavy metal menu. The guitar work employed swivels and rolls effortlessly in and out of divergent styles--- thrash, progressive, melodic death, NWoBHM, southern prog, and even the sporadic foray into the types of scale work used in neo-classical. The compositional texture is rather like what might occur if the various styles used in heavy metal formed a musical coalition of sorts, not separate, but equal. Even still, these are masterfully synthesized by Mastodon into something distinct to the ears of even the most jaded listener, revealing a fresh and novel approach. The sound is hard, but refined. The arrangements are complex, yet maintain a savage and raw feel. Few take the time to appreciate just what sort of task, by implication, the production of Leviathan itself involved, by way of sound mix and mastering. Respectively, Matt Bayles and Alan Douches should be regarded as names to look out for, based upon the exquisite performance they gave, behind the controls of Leviathan.
One final note - drummer Brann Dailor's snare fills on Leviathan deserve special mention. He has a very precise technique and the way he intersperses quick little bass drum licks with fluid, single stroke snare rolls is beyond impressive - it is awe-inspiring. At times I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. Mastodon's Leviathan is one monster of a record...
2. "I Am Ahab"
3. "Seabeast"
4. "Ísland"
5. "Iron Tusk"
6. "Megalodon"
7. "Naked Burn"
8. "Aqua Dementia" (Feat. Scott Kelly)
9. "Hearts Alive"
10. "Joseph Merrick"
Bonus Audio DVD
1. "Naked Burn" (5.1 Surround Sound)
2. "Aqua Dementia" (5.1 Surround Sound)
3. "Hearts Alive" (5.1 Surround Sound)
4. "Where Strides the Behemoth" (Live)
5. "Battle at Sea" (Live)
6. "Thank You for This / We Built This Come Death" (Live)
7. "Crusher Destroyer" (Live)
Leviathan is a concept album by progressive metal band Mastodon, released in 2004 by Relapse Records. The album is loosely based on the Herman Melville novel Moby-Dick, with the songs: "Iron Tusk", "Blood and Thunder", "I Am Ahab" and "Seabeast" released as singles. Three magazines awarded it Album of the Year in 2004: Revolver, Kerrang! and Terrorizer.
Leviathan was also released with an Audio DVD in a limited edition set with a black and gold slipcase. The album brought Mastodon great critical acclaim and, thanks to the ensuing tour, a considerably larger fan base. Leviathan had sold 103,000 copies by September, 2006. Guitarist Bill Kelliher considers this album to represent the water element.
Musically speaking, Leviathan simply scores across the span of the heavy metal menu. The guitar work employed swivels and rolls effortlessly in and out of divergent styles--- thrash, progressive, melodic death, NWoBHM, southern prog, and even the sporadic foray into the types of scale work used in neo-classical. The compositional texture is rather like what might occur if the various styles used in heavy metal formed a musical coalition of sorts, not separate, but equal. Even still, these are masterfully synthesized by Mastodon into something distinct to the ears of even the most jaded listener, revealing a fresh and novel approach. The sound is hard, but refined. The arrangements are complex, yet maintain a savage and raw feel. Few take the time to appreciate just what sort of task, by implication, the production of Leviathan itself involved, by way of sound mix and mastering. Respectively, Matt Bayles and Alan Douches should be regarded as names to look out for, based upon the exquisite performance they gave, behind the controls of Leviathan.
One final note - drummer Brann Dailor's snare fills on Leviathan deserve special mention. He has a very precise technique and the way he intersperses quick little bass drum licks with fluid, single stroke snare rolls is beyond impressive - it is awe-inspiring. At times I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. Mastodon's Leviathan is one monster of a record...
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