The year is 2004. Mastodon, the heavy metal band from Atlanta Georgia, have already taken a decision which would mark their path towards the future and their upcoming endeavors: try and differentiate in a way their music approach, from the total sludgy, extreme and ‘caveman-like’ style so far, and look towards a more ‘commercial’, cohesive, ‘slightly friendlier’ to bigger audiences and easier to digest sound. ‘Leviathan’ is such a unique and ‘stand-alone’ record, as it bridges the band’s early period with almost all their next releases till today. It is so-to-speak, their turning point.
‘Leviathan’ is a concept album, inspired by the 1851 novel ‘Moby-Dick’ by Herman Melville. This epic novel from the 19th century focuses on ‘the sailor Ishmael’s narrative of the maniacal quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship Pequod, for vengeance against Moby Dick, the giant white sperm whale that bit off his leg on the ship’s previous voyage’. It is also considered as part of the band’s tetralogy of their first 4 albums, representing the water element, according to what the band have previously stated (‘Remission’ is associated with Fire, ‘Blood Mountain’ with Earth and ‘Crack the Skye’ with Aether). A lot of people have argued in the past that, Mastodon play a kinda weird music, with a plethora of heavy, fast and technical riffs scattered, using technical and fast drumming, a fuzzy and hazy sound production, together with extreme vocals. Well, no matter how messy, or scattered, or extreme their music has been labeled, ‘Leviathan’ is the album which brought them to the forescene of heavy metal, broadened their fan base, got them invited to play at Ozzfest for the first time (2005) and in a few words, made them world-wide famous.
This major breakthrough was achieved by the really hard work of all 4 members, and I really stress this out, as all 4 of them reached insane playing standards (something they kinda surpassed as well in their upcoming releases..). Especially Brann Dailor, whose drumming is absolutely phenomenal, I strongly consider him one of the best metal drummers out there, and this argument is massively supported by his work in ‘Leviathan’. Playing on this record, he manages to be at the same time very: technical, fast, heavy, groovy and elevate the whole experience to another level… The guitars on the other hand are super heavy and there is a cataclysm of riffs all over. Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher have played on the album like there is no tomorrow. Their contribution is amazing and ‘Leviathan’ has some of the best trademark Mastodon riffs to have ever been recorded.
The opening riff from ‘Blood and Thunder’ sets the record straight from the very first second, where the groove is unbeatable, combined by huge drums and vocals (Neil Fallon from Clutch is guesting here, and this is fucking great!), and then you just have no doubts of what is about to follow on the album. The fast tempo and pace is consistent. However, there are glimpses of how the band has made the shift towards more progressive waters (e.g.: ‘Seabeast’, ‘Megalodon’) with songs setting down the pace for a while and then speed up again. What is also worth mentioning is how well the vocals have been taken care by both Brent (verses), with his Ozzy-like voice and Troy (choruses), and the result is just awesome, it fits perfect! ‘Island’ (or I should say ‘Iceland’, as there are some great lyrics, blending the Norse mythology among others) moves on the ocean of riffs and drums in a dominant manner. ‘Iron Tusk’ is definitely a highlight of the record. This one is groovy, with amazing double drums and killer, chunky riffs. ‘Naked Burn’ is another great song where Brent unfolds his vocal talent, and also a song with some beautiful prog riffs, assisted by lyrics where there is criticism for religion and the church. ‘Aqua Dementia’ features Scott Kelly from Neurosis, and you could argue that this one carries as well an environmental message through the lyrics: “An invitation to clairvoyance It’s hard to stand around and watch while they ignore us She is dumped on Used as an ashtray’, ‘And we cleanse the earth to bring it down’. Next is the epic and long ‘Hearts Alive’, a 13 minute prog masterpiece, with impressive riffs and where Brent is simply killing it, both on his riffs and solos but also vocal-wise. Simply brilliant! Following such a heavy and hectic sequence of songs, it is a great opportunity to cool the situation off with a beautiful outro, ‘Joseph Merrick, a wonderful instrumental piece, a weird structured but still mellow and cinematic ending to their marvelous ‘Leviathan’, accompanied by such a nice organ, where the listener has the chance to reflect on the whole experience of listening to the album.
As an epilogue, what needs to be highlighted is that, ‘Leviathan’ at the point of its release reignited the interest of many people for heavy metal and this particular sound Mastodon spotted on. Blending different styles, from thrash, metalcore, classic heavy metal, progressive, even melodic death metal, ‘Leviathan’ opened the gates for more people to listen, experiment with music and throw different pathways ahead to explore even more. In the form of a slightly chaotic, amorphous and heavily intense album, Mastodon did a fantastic job to cross over from the narrow and strict audiences until then, to the mainstream success of what their future has started to show in front of them. The inspiration from the ‘Moby Dick’ story allowed the band to pursue their own music quest, to throw themselves in the open seas trailing their destiny, seeking new territories and through unexplored waters.
Track listing:
- Blood and Thunder (feat. Neil Fallon)
- I Am Ahab
- Seabeast
- Island
- Iron Tusk
- Megalodon
- Naked Burn
- Aqua Dementia (feat. Scott Kelly)
- Hearts Alive
- Joseph Merrick (instrumental)
Trivia:
- ‘Leviathan’ was recorded in Seattle, Washington (March 2004) and was released by Relapse on August 31, 2004.
- It was awarded ‘Album of the year’ in 2004 by 3 magazines: Revolver, Kerrang! And Terrorizer.
- The (incredible) cover art and booklet artwork was done by Paul Romano.
- The album features Neil Fallon (Clutch) on “Blood and Thunder” and Scott Kelly (Neurosis) on “Aqua Dementia”.
- 3 cover songs were included as bonus tracks in the vinyl box set: “The Bit” (Melvins), “Emerald” (Thin Lizzy) and “Orion” (Metallica)
- On the vinyl editions, the tracks “I Am Ahab” and “Ísland” appear in a different track sequence than regular.
- Brann Dailor, when he wrote the bridge for “Blood and Thunder”, was inspired by a CD he got back in the early 90s called “Yalla – Egypt’s’ hitlist’ .
- Joseph Merrick was the Elephant Man (known for his severe physical deformities, who lived in the UK in the second half of the 1800s), and the outro of ‘Leviathan’ is part of the sequence of 3 instrumental pieces, which started on ‘Remission’ with ‘The Elephant Man’, continued with ‘Joseph Merrick’ on ‘Leviathan’ and ended with ‘Pendulous Skin’ on ‘Blood Mountain’. Mastodon unfortunately did not continue this thematic sequence after ‘Blood Mountain’.
- Ashes of the Leviathan Tour 2024: The tour finds the two iconic bands joining forces and co-headline for the celebration of the 20th anniversary of two seminal releases: Lamb of God’s biggest-selling album Ashes of the Wake and Mastodon’s acclaimed sophomore album Leviathan, which were both released on August 31, 2004.
