A long trek through demo era Leviathan – 80%
BlackMetal213, June 26th, 2015
Leviathan is one of the forerunners in the black metal scene of the United States. Before releasing his absolutely amazing debut full-length album “The Tenth Sub Level of Suicide”, Wrest (Jef Whitehead) went through a very prolific demo period from 1998 through 2002. This album, entitled “Verräter”, is a compilation of various tracks from those demo tapes. Usually, I steer clear of compilations as they have a reputation of being either a “cash grab”, or they just contain boring tracks. This is an example of a compilation that is worth the value of a full-length album, and contains 2 discs of material from Leviathan’s early demos. For anyone who wants to hear the band’s demo material, this is definitely a solid listen.
Most depressive suicidal black metal (DSBM) bands play slow, dense songs that sometimes sound funeral doom influenced. Bands like Austere, Xasthur, and Depressive Years tend to prefer playing slow dirges rather than fast-paced black metal. Wrest certainly does implement ambience in his music, with eerie, haunting keys and some of the most horrifying vocals in the genre. However, Leviathan’s music at times is played at a uniquely fast pace. There are some furious riffs on this album. In the “One Man Metal” film, during an interview, Wrest actually said “I always wanted to play faster. Leviathan is not that fast, but it’s as fast as I can play”. Leviathan actually does play fairly fast especially considering a lot of bands that play DSBM. In reality, this has more in common with standard black metal than anything. The guitars on this album are fairly dark. They go from fast-paced buzzsaw riffs to extremely doom-influenced, melancholic sections.
Wrest’s vocals are what really make this music well…scary. His screams literally sound like Satan. I cannot think of a better description. A tortured, depressed, maniacal Satan. This horrific sounding atmosphere is only amplified by the raw, demo-style production. But in reality, while this compilation is indeed made up of demo tracks, they were recorded quite well. The production is clear enough to hear what is going on and we can even hear some bass in the mix at times, but it is raw enough to maintain that bleak atmosphere which is a staple for this style of music. The drums are executed quite nicely here, and they don’t really sound like a drum machine. While I was watching that aforementioned “One Man Metal” film, Wrest was playing an electric drum kit. They certainly don’t sound fake and we are assaulted by sonic blastbeats on a regular basis. This is definitely some of the most aggressive depressive black metal out there, and a good collection of songs in the ambient yet chaotic style Leviathan is known for playing.
My only complaint is the album’s two and a half hour runtime of music that all sounds very similar to each other. This is definitely some good music but for new fans of black metal and to people who are just getting into Leviathan, this can sound somewhat monotonous. The songs are great but really don’t vary that much from each other. For someone who already listens to and enjoys Leviathan, and wants to experience his demo days, this is definitely a worthy collection to immerse yourself in. For those who are completely new to the band, check out “The Tenth Sub Level of Suicide” first and go from there.
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