Search - Leviathan :: Tenth Sub Level of Suicide

4.5. Cacophonous, but sad and beautiful too

General Zombie | the West | 04/05/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Black Metal is definitely not one of my favorite metal styles, but at it's best it can be about as good as anything out there. Still, I'd grown a little leery of more BM as of late, because the last couple albums I'd got hadn't been so thrilling. So, It's a good thing I took another chance and got some Leviathan. This isn't quite the best Black Metal I've ever heard, but it's definitely up there.



This is some fairly hardcore music, though there's definitely some dirtier, rougher stuff out there. All recorded on 4-track, and it's pretty static-laden and thin, but it's not the sort of wall of static you sometimes hear, and you can still make out most of the instruments out fairly well. I think this has about the right balance, as the production gives it the distinctive Black metal flavoring, w/o becoming needlessly and irritatingly rough. This is a one man band,(He calls himself Wrest) and the musicianship is generally pretty basic, but that sorta stuff matters very little for BM of this sort. He is a great vocalist however. Definitely one of the best I've heard in a Black Metal band. It's a tortured, distorted and mangled roar, definitely a lot better then the sorta mildly ill croak you here quite a bit.



The album is about 72 minutes long, with 8 actual songs, so this is some moderately epic black metal. This album is actually fairly moderately paced, though they blast away quite a bit of the time, and it's got quite a few minimalistic breaks. Some people only like their BM at topspeed, but I think it often works best when you give the music some space to breathe. Some of the tracks don't really have all that many different riffs or parts, considering their lengths, but it never gets boring, which is all that really matters.



The songs generally aren't wildly different from one another, but they can be distinguished readily, with a little effort. 'The Bitter Emblem of Dissolve' is probably my favorite track. It's one of the shorter tracks, but it all works, with some powerfully atmospheric and melodic guitarwork, and Wrest's most frightful, otherworldly vocal performance. The mellow ending section is excellent too, with more nice melody that still fits the whole tone of the song well. 'Sardoniscorn' probably comes in second. It's most notable for the awesome minimalist middle break, with some great piano and more tortured vox. (You belong to us!!) The rest of the song is great too, though. 'The Idiot Sun' is another standout, being perhaps the slowest track here. It's a painful, roaring dirge, with another one of Wrest's best vocal performances. 'Submersed' is excellent too. It's just a repetitive little electronic outro, but it's really quite affecting, and fits the mood of the album well. 'At the Door to the Tenth Sub Level of Suicide' is the epic closer. Overall, it is perhaps just average for the album, but it comes to a stirring, genuinely powerful crescendo about 10 minutes in, with the sorta epic feel that reminds me of the best moments of the great Weakling. It definitely provides a good sorta exclamation point to the album.



Yeah, that's it. This is good Black Metal."

When you kill yourself....

Cremisi North | Ohio | 06/25/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Leviathan is by far one of the best black metal bands that the United States has seen. Definitely there are some that are going to compare this to Burzum, but this album is so much more. At times the album is slow and suffocating, at other times they are just down right brutal and menacing. Some say that this album is "hypnotizing" and they are completely right. The vocals are some of the most tortured this world has ever heard. The Tenth Sub Level of Suicide is in a category all of it's own. All songs are great on this record, but my particular favorites are: F**king Your Ghost in Chains of Ice, The Bitter Emblem of Dissolve, and The Idiot Sun. A must own!"

Best black metal cd of the year !!!

damion frost | San Francisoco, CA United States | 11/17/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"true to the black metal form, this latest forthcoming from san francisco's leviathan is by far the best cd i have herd in a long time !! aside from the fact that this whole album is done by a one man band, this is a must own if you are into TRUE black metal and love the greats like burzum, darkthrone and mayhem. and if that was not enough for you this man also does crazy tattoo work in san francisco in a shop called tattoo city. bottom line BUY IT !!!"