(Metal) Mastodon - Leviathan

[Crocto]

Mastodon - Leviathan
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10/16/04
3/5

Mastodon’s last release Remission blew listeners away with its “math-metal” formula, math-metal meaning music that is so “complex” it can only be expressed in mathematical equations instead of standard musical notation. Honestly, I failed to see the complexity of the music on Leviathan. Sure the drumming is extremely well done and the guitar riffs are loud and fast but it’s definitely not as fast as Dragonforce or technical as Dream Theater. That being said the lack of technical complexity is actually a positive for the band. Instead of getting mired in over-the-top fretboard pyrotechnics they create memorable riffs that are great to headbang along with. On another note all of the songs on Leviathan relate in
some way to Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, which rules.

The overall production values on the CD are very good. The distorted guitars crunch and growl like and the clean passages also sound excellent and vibrant when needed. The issue of technical complexity arises again with the guitars. The riffs and solos on Leviathan are not as technical compared to other metal bands such as Dream Theater. The album opener, “Blood and Thunder” begins with an almost blues rock riff that is actually pretty cool and catchy.

The drums have a good sound as well. In addition, to sounding great the drumming on Leviathan is excellent. Cuts such as “Seabeast” and “Megalondon” have some great fills as well as double-bass sections. The vocals are hit and miss cuts like “Blood and Thunder” the lyrics are clear while on tracks like “Iron Tusk” and “Island” the vocals turn into a hardcore growl and let’s face it no one likes hardcore.

Another problem I heard, this may not be a problem for others, was the lack of guitar solos. The band obviously has loads of talent yet there are only two solos on the entire forty-seven minute CD. The songs with solos on being “Island” and the fourteen minute long epic “Hearts Alive”. “Hearts Alive” starts out slowly but than picks up momentum and turns into a driving riff laden epic song that ends with a great solo and is easily the best cut on the entire CD. Note that Leviathan is sold as a digi-pak so when you plunk down the seventeen odd dollars at Best Buy you’ll get a cool case and a free audio DVD.

3/5

[Tangy zizzle]

You mentioned Dream Theater more than Mastodon, good work...

[br3ad_man]

I was very happy to see that someone had answered my review request. Unfortunatly, your review hasn't really done anything for me and I'm still confused as to whether I should go and buy it now or should I wait. Your review wasn't really anything to me, sorry man.

[Ornery Cephalopod]

1. Mastodon is in no way "math metal" (granted, they're hard to fit into a genre, but lots of drum fills and uncommon time signatures does not equal math metal)

2. Comparing them to Dragonforce and Dream Theater is pointless, as they are totally different styles than Mastodon (power metal and prog metal, vs. whatever Mastodon is)

3. "The album opener, “Blood and Thunder” begins with an almost blues rock riff that is actually pretty cool and catchy." -Oh come on now, there's better examples of "blues rock" than a totally non-bluesy metal riff that just happens to not be distorted.

4. "The vocals are hit and miss cuts like “Blood and Thunder” the lyrics are clear while on tracks like “Iron Tusk” and “Island” the vocals turn into a hardcore growl and let’s face it no one likes hardcore." -Ok, I know this is pretty subjective, but I disagree, "Blood and Thunder" has the worst vocals on the album. (I heard they're guest vocals from the singer of some other band?) And I'm not a hardcore fan for the most part, but the hardcore comment was just idiotic (I know, it was said in a joking manner (I hope), but I'm in a mood to drop as many plates on dat *** as I can).

5. I abhorred this review. Good day sir.

[Distorted Vision]

Yeah, tha review sort of missed the mark I think. Like Ornery Cephalopod said, there were quite a few points that were pretty irrelevant.

I for one like this album, I haven't heard Remission so I can't compare but it's a very cool album. I'd give it 4/5.

[LordDargon]

Downloaded a couple tracks, wasn't impressed. Remission kills this.

[Iai]

Congratulagtions, you've demonstrated to all concerned just how bad a review can get without getting deleted. Good work everyone.

[Dancin' Man]

Reviews like this make me want to write one. For an album I've never heard. In broken French. All in caps.

[Iai]

Do it! DO IT!!!!

[Dancin' Man]

Give me an album and the track titles and times. I will decide the genre and rate each track, in depth.

[Iai]

:lol:

How about doing a review that's already been done, just to rub it in? :p

[DimebagDarrell]

Remission>Leviathan

but this album is still very good, for anyone not willing to buy it and want to hear a few tracks first i suggest: Seabeast, Blood and Thunder and Naked Burn

[Ornery Cephalopod]

Remission = Leviathan. Maybe even slightly Leviathan > Remission.

Leviathan took longer to get used to, but seems like it'll have longer staying power among my commonly spun disks.

[KemikalKadet]

crappy review, great album. i thought this was way better than remission. with remission i felt that most songs started well but then kinda got lost. on leviathan i think the songs have far greater direction with good beginning middle and endings. track 3 in particular is one of the best moments on the album- the bit where it's chugging along at a a decent pace, then breaks into a sort of country/bluegrass riff before going back to the heavy stuff but twice as fast and heavy than before. also the acoustic track at the end is genius.

[Crocto]

i honestly thought it was ok at best. from what i've read on-line everyone liked this CD and i don't really see why. the drumming as i said was good the guitar riffs are good but other than that the CD is lacking. there are exactly 2 solos the vocals are poor or just flat out boring.

fast fingers and all those who complain about what is review really need to grow up. just because i didn't like "your" band doesn't mean you have to bash me.

some of my comments may have been off topic i'll agree. the hardcore comment was a bit of a joke but not much of one.

in short this review is one guy's opinion of a CD if you don't like it stop complaing that simple.

[morten]

It's sounds like you have read a bunch of reviews, and are comparing alle the reviews you read, with the CD?

Isn't it supposed too be your own opinion? And why trash a whole genre, like hardcore...

Your pittyfull review lacks quite a lot.


And you - instead off being a dick, about the users complaints/remarks/reviews of your review (whatever..) - take it, and use it, so next time you can make an even better review.

Btw - I agree in most of what you have written though..

[kolin666]

hey to say, not matter how you think the album is these are amazing live. best support band i have ever seen, they supported slipknot along side slayer and hatebreed, truely the best gig possible.

[Dancin' Man]

Because both reviews sucked, I'm writing one right now. Stay tuned.

[Det_Nosnip]

BLOOD AND THUNDER: 4/5

I AM AHAB: 2/5

SEABEAST: 3/5

ISLAND: 3/5

IRON TUSK: 4/5

MEGALODON: 4.5/5

NAKED BURN: 4/5

AQUA DEMAMTIA: 5/5

HEARTS ALIVE: ?/5

JOSEPH MERRICK: 5/5 ( id give a 6/5 if i could)

==

OVERALL:a solid 4.5/5, the best album ive bought since master of puppets and is yet to leave my stereo
:confused: How does that work?

[Dancin' Man]

Mastodon is
Bill Kelliher (guitar)
Brann Dailor (drums)
Troy Sanders (vocals/bass)
Brent Hinds (vocals/guitar)
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0002N66FS.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Mastodon is the most solidly metal band there is. No subgenrefication, just metal. Metal their own way. With tons of fills both for guitar and drums, every song is packed with constant variations. Almost every verse sounds like its own break down and the vocals are rarely the focal point of the music. When there are vocals, they take on the role of an instrument fitting with the band rather than the traditional front seat. Every song is packed with melodies contrasted by thumping rhythms and the drums. The drums are perfect. Brann Dailor finds a way to play his comparatively diminutive 6 piece set in such a way that it sounds like one of today’s giant drum sets normally found in metal bands. This band fills the void for every metal fan looking for something new. It caters to just about every metal fan. Nu metal fans can appreciate this as can tr00 metal heads. There is really something for everyone. One complaint might be the lack of guitar solos but, much like Tool, Mastodon focuses more on the group sound than the individual making for 10 solid songs.

Blood and Thunder – Excellent opener. A solid riff and superb drumming and a chorus that contrasts extremely well with an arpeggio like chord progression. A mini solo/fill is in there and flows into a bridge section with some very snazzy snare work. The drummer, from the pictures I’ve seen, does not play on an enormous set like some drummers do yet he makes it sound like he does. The song has an unfortunately standard order but it is short and ends with a great harmonized variation of the main riff.

I Am Ahab – A basic riff opens the song and is split by a fast fill/breakdown. This song is packed with breakdown like features. Lots of fills and variations on the same riff in Mastodon fashion. There is a very melodic bridge with more snazzy drum work. A short song prevents this song from getting repetitive.

Seabeast – Oh no. The intro is awesome. Slightly dissonant, very melodic and not too fast. Then the song really starts and takes a step back The vocal melody reminds me of 311 and that is a bad thing. This song goes in between awesome melodic sections and terrible verses. The song has another section that is somewhere in between the two in terms of quality but overall this song is ruined by that verse. It has a great outro which tries to save the song, but fails.

Island – This is a riff packed song. The drums, yet again, are excellent. There is a superb breakdown that some people might mistake for a solo but the guitar mix really isn’t high enough and it’s just tremolo picking. Excellent song.

Iron Tusk – Generally singles suck. This one does not. The riff is simple yet excellent. The vocals are the best on the album and some of the best I’ve ever heard. They stand out a bit more on this track and you can really hear the back and forth vocals. The guitars do a nice job of coming together. The drums, again, are awesome. This song really gets you moving. The vocals make me feel paranoid. Excellent work.

Megalodon – This song starts with the same sort of melodic guitar part as Seabeast but better. The drums are superb and when the part changes, it gets better. It has an middle eastern flair to it. There is a very interesting country sounding guitar fill that contrasts the song really well. After that there is some more excellent riffage. A very fast paced song. The drumming is less interesting on this song but very fitting. Not as many interesting fills. The guitars do more of the playing the parallel riffing where they play in 3rds I think but am too lazy to figure it out. It sounds good is the point. This song has some great breakdowns. It has a really bluesy feel to it after that solo.

Naked Burn – This intro makes me think hyper nu metal. It sort of bounces and does a build with the bass and drums. And it’s ruined. The vocals and guitars turn whiny and make me think of all those annoying Nirvana moments that make you want to break your stereo. If any song on this album could be classified as nu metal, this is it. There are some great parts but this band should not attempt singing. When they start doing their yell/scream the song becomes awesome. The bass is really audible on this song. This is a great song if you can get over the fairly bad singing. There is some decent singing but nothing to write home about. This song makes me feel like a pirate. When you hear him say “The ship’s arrived” it only amplifies that.

Aqua Dementia – Intro = perfect. A fast guitar dueling guitar part and awesome drums. Then into a variant riff. The vocals are almost black metal. This song is repetitive and switches back and forth between two parts about 6 times. There are little fills thrown in there and the drums really get to show off here. There is a halftime section in the middle with a great guitar part. The interludes in this song make it into a really great song. The song ends with ocean sounds.

Hearts Alive – Begins with ocean sounds. A great riff fades in. It is basically the band jamming on a theme for the first 2 minutes. Good thing it’s a great theme. Then the beast enters. A blasting semi chromatic riff launches in and then the original theme is layered over that. Vocals. Great vocals. The jam theme comes back with monotone sung vocals. It has that Middle Eastern flair again. This time to vocals don’t suck. The song builds and then back to that theme. I think they use a slightly distorted 12 string for the part. The song sounds best when they slam a real in your face chord progression over the main theme. This song has been able to take everything Mastodon does right and turn it into an epic. The drums know when to do a cool fill and the guitars do great variations on their riffs. The vocals are great. And the theme. They keep going back and it’s great. The best part of it is still when the heavy guitars come in. This is a perfect song. Then, at 7:08 the song takes an interesting turn. New theme with variations and excellent rolling drums. Key changes galore. Then the chords slam in on top of this new theme. This is like two perfect songs back to back. Why that idiot who did the second review never listened to the whole song is beyond me because it easily wins for best song on the album. Then, there is a solo. It’s pretty simple but fits perfectly. There’s some basic tapping and then an almost shred section that is very bluesy. And then there is the final riff that just goes and jams itself until the end. Awesome.

Joseph Merrick – Reverb and acoustic and tremolo and woah. This song is kickass. One thing Mastodon can do well is make an instrumental that doesn’t strike you as being different than their other songs. It’s an evil blues rock tune that sounds closer to Radiohead than any other band. The tremolo and the mild distortion are just a great way to close up. I can hear this song being played live while they thank the audience and just talk at you. If there is one thing I wish for, it’s a sample of someone reading passages from Moby Dick over this song. I would kill for that.


This album easily deserves a 4.5/5 Go buy it now.

[Berty]

Fingers wins. I need to get this. Would you say this is better than Remission?

[Ornery Cephalopod]

I love that cover art.

Fingers wins. I need to get this. Would you say this is better than Remission?

My prophesy up above came true... It's not as immediately gratifying as Remission, but it holds up better in the long run.

[Dancin' Man]

It really depends. I think people with more diverse tastes would like this better from the start but they are both really good. If this album had March of the Fire Ants, it would be a classic.

[Cliff Em All]

Because both reviews sucked, I'm writing one right now. Stay tuned.


Did mine really? I honestly do not remember even writing it... it must have been late or i was just f***ed up...Ill get rid of it.

[Ornery Cephalopod]

It really depends. I think people with more diverse tastes would like this better from the start but they are both really good. If this album had March of the Fire Ants, it would be a classic.

I have pretty dang diverse tastes, so I disagree with that. I just feel that you have to get to know Levianthan a bit before it's greatness surpasses Remission.

But everyone's different, so...

[superpeer]

I've seen it in the store, but it doesn't have the cool cover art, just some gold lines on a black background. :mad:

I like what I've heard from it though.

[Dancin' Man]

I've never seen that cover. Maybe you saw Remission?

[superpeer]

No, it was leviathan. Possibly the European version with bonus tracks?

[Ornery Cephalopod]

No, it was leviathan. Possibly the European version with bonus tracks?

There's a digipack that comes with a bonus DVD, but I thought it still had the same cover art. So maybe your guess is right. Or something like that.

[owlandtree]

Good stuff!

[br3ad_man]

The gold packaging looks awesome.

[micahmelton]

saw Mastodon live with Killswitch Engage. These two bands are possibly two of the most underrated bands of today. Killswitch being at the top of my list for most known unknown bands. Both these bands put on an INCREDIBLE show and although this has nothing to do with their cd if you get a chance to see either band live I highly suggest you go.

[Dancin' Man]

1) KsE are well known.
2) KsE are whiny emo bitches.
3) KsE suck.

[Iai]

KsE, unknown? Where do you live?

[James Howlett]

I have pretty dang diverse tastes, so I disagree with that. I just feel that you have to get to know Levianthan a bit before it's greatness surpasses Remission.

But everyone's different, so...

Yeah I listened alot to Remissions and found I didn't really like Levaithan in the beginning. Now some time later I think its better then Remissions with id still one of my favorite album.

There one hell of a live band aswell, seen e'm twice now and the rock.