when i wrote about the 'call of the mastodon' compilation i bought recently, i mentioned the purchase of their sophomore record 'leviathan'. beause i really wanted the colour variant i ordered directly from the label. which means i ordered from the states. which means it took up to three weeks to arrive here in germany. ahh, waiting, the most gnawing tormentor of all. but anyway, it arrived here in perfect shape. and thanks to the label and the people working there, i didn't have to pay any more fees either, because of a well-meant customer declaration.
first thing that blew me away holding the actual record in hands, was this stunning piece of artwork. i knew the look of the cd artwork being different to its lp equivalent, showing just an excerpt. and that is fantastic in its own right already. but the whole thing with the whale's complete shape and the gloomy dark-blue colour scheme around the picture's principal point are simply outstanding. on top of that, the inner sleeve shows an even more extended art and the back looks amazing with its art nouveau ornamentation.
compared to the 'call of the mastodon' pieces, 'leviathan' sounds more like a whole (quite normal as 'call...' is compiled of two 7"es), is better thought out and got a clearer production. i was reading some reviews about the record beforehand and read about the album being lyrically based on herman melville's moby dick. yes, i love stuff like this. you know, i'm a big fan of all things jules verne, i love star wars and indiana jones, i love comic books and stuff, and therefore moby dick is just my kind of adventurous tale to arouse my deepest curiosity. i knew about the story vaguely and so decided to even buy the book for better comprehension. i'm still at it and it's a very good read so far. recommendation!
back to the music. without knowing 'remission' as yet, they included some more sung parts and in turn reduced the grunts. i really like that, it gives the album a more stoner/doom metal approach which makes quite an entertaining mix with the hardcore and death metal tunes. check out my favourites 'seabeast' and 'aqua dementia'. leviathan is in its eighth pressing by now. lucky me that the demand seems to be still high and relapse keeps on repressing it after ten years of its initial release. spares me the agony of price over at discogs for a coloured copy. 504 copies made on tri-colour vinyl as a mailorder exclusive. relapse records. 2004/2014.
