Mastodon "Leviathan" (Relapse)
By Eric Chon
Tuesday. Nov 23, 11:00 PM
A shining beacon for not just metal, but all music.

Many bands and albums claim to be the future of metal. More often than not, however, they push the boundaries within their style but only come up with a well-blended amalgamation of various subgenres. It’s rare that anybody truly does something original.

But when you can construct a unique vision from ashes of the old, you have truly done something new. What Mastodon have achieved is exceptional: they’ve taken the sum of metal’s diverse sounds and forged them into something greater… something unique. And yes, this is most certainly a brand-new horizon for metal and for music in general.

Their previous effort, Remission, was a tour de force of angular guitars, gruff vocals, and blisteringly destructive rhythm. How they could ever manage to top it is beyond me, but they have. Leviathan lives up to its name: it’s a towering slab of musical mayhem and unchecked aggression. It is a true beast.

It’s no secret that the aquatic nature of the album is an homage to Melville’s classic Moby Dick and Ahab’s obsession with the “mastodon of the sea.” The powerful opener “Blood and Thunder” only heralds the album’s descend into madness and dementia. As strong as it is, “Blood and Thunder” harkens back strongly to Remission, acting almost like a bridge between the two albums.

Leviathan truly charges into the sea with “I Am Ahab,” giving us whirlwind guitars that scream like the gale-force winds of a hurricane, knocking you senseless. Dailor’s drums know no mercy as they pound like 50 foot waves, drowning all under their crushing blasts. But it would be a crime to label the entire album as a non-stop storm.

Like the sea, Leviathan churns and flows in an unpredictable manner: moving from devastating attack to roiling melodies in a blink of an eye but without jarring you from the narrative. Each song compliments the next and every change makes sense, even though it may take some time to create the connections.

The twin attack of guitarists Brent Hinds and Troy Sanders draw from every era of powerful axemanship – from the thick groove of ‘70s rock to the lightening fast fretwork of modern death metal. There is a chunkiness and heaviness rarely seen today, augmented by Bill Kelliher’s massive bass playing. But let us never forget that the most chaotic of them all also ties the entire group together, and Brann Dailor’s unparalleled drumming is Mastodon’s mastic.

Leviathan truly shows Mastodon’s potential. The viciousness of Remission is still present, but now the guitars and atonal melodies have room to breath. Even Kelliher’s vocals are given space to stretch and fill the sound out. It’s hard to believe, but they have trumped themselves with Leviathan. This is a masterpiece of music and truly the future of metal.
www.mastodonrocks.com
www.relapse.com

Eric Chon

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