Leviathan
Beholden to Nothing, Braver Since Then

The mythical, biblical sea monster known from the old testament is resurrected and comes back to haunt us all again. Or something like that perhaps, beholden to nothing they are and as that wasn’t enough they are also braver since then. An american band taking a view on biblical things, and of course on other things in an album of fifteen tracks and 75 minutes of music. A progressive band who for a long time was disbanded and then resurrected a few years ago, they released the debut as far back as 1991 and this is the fifth album they manage. A masterpiece says some, so let us see what we say. Good looking cover art.

My first impression is one of a quite somber album, it is not particularly heavy or energetic. The songs build on complex structures but not overly complicated and there isn’t too much of that progressive virtuosity that you hear from some bands in the genre. Decent production but the genre often offer a lot more sophisticated productions and I think that it sounds a bit murky in comparison with the best bands in the genre. The singer is good, has a very fitting vocal presence for the style of music on the album. I think he reminds me a bit of Ray Alder of Fates Warning, the fact is that the band themselves reminds a fair deal of said band. Not a very varied album for the genre and I think some will find it becoming a bit tiresome towards its latter stages.

As a fan of progressive metal, this is the kind of music I generally like and this is a fairly good album. I think it is a bit on the long side, especially towards the end. Not too much that really grabs me as a listener. It is a good listen but not something that sticks with me is as good a way as any to describe it. This album has a little bit of the problem that so many albums, especially progressive ones, has these day and that is that they are too long and hence looses its appeal towards the end and also becomes quite dense to get through. It has many dimensions when you start looking beneath the surface though, but all that is being slightly hampered by the lack of variation over the songs. So in the end a strong album that never really takes to the skies, but then again sea monsters might not belong in the skies anyway.

Well than, amongst fifteen tracks there should be some that stand out more than others. And one does, Thumbing Your Nose at Those Who Oppose. That is a fascinating track with a good lyrical concept as well, I like it very much and it is my little keepsake of this album. I am not as impressed by the rest of the album, an album you enjoy while listening to it but you then forget it as soon as the music ends. A shame as there are some very interesting stuff here but the album doesn’t quite deliver the goods. So in the end maybe an album to look up if you are a fan of the band or the genre, but then again I think you’ll be a bit more happy with Fates Warning’s or Dream Theater’s recent works.

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