August 31, 2004 - Leviathan

On the same day as my last release and a little over two years since "Remission", Mastodon released their second album "Leviathan" on August 31, 2004. Mastodon continue their unique style of alternative, slightly progressive metal and this is their first concept album with all the lyrics being about the classic novel "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville. That's an interesting choice for a concept album, Let's see what it's all about!

The album opens with it's lead single "Blood And Thunder" which features guest vocals from Neil Fallon of Clutch! It starts with a quiet rhythm guitar riff by Bill Kelliher before the rest of the band comes slamming in nicely as Brent Hinds syncs up with the same riff but much louder and heavier, Brann Dailor provides some speedy and pretty sweet drums and Troy Sanders plays some heavy bass in the background while shouting in a solid voice that isn't quite a scream but still sounds nice and heavy. Sanders switches to a raspy scream in the chorus and he sounds pretty good screaming out "White! Whale! Holy! Grail!" After a couple rounds Hinds takes us in a new direction with a pretty sweet guitar riff and Fallon comes in to sing his part overtop this riff and his epic voice fits pretty nicely! They finish it off with a final chorus and this was a pretty cool way to start off the album! Up next is "I Am Ahab" and Kelliher starts us off again with a slower rhythm guitar riff, then Hinds takes the lead with a much faster, very technical lead guitar riff where he is picking all up and down the fretboard and things sound pretty sweet! Sanders shouts nicely overtop and Dailor's drums are pretty great throughout, but Hinds is the highlight of this song for sure as he plays some excellent guitar for pretty much the whole 2:45! Track 3 is "Seabeast" and things slow right down with another solid rhythm guitar riff by Kelliher, some epic lead guitar to match the slow mood and Dailor's quieter drums also sound decently epic still. Sanders voice sounds different on this one as he sings a little higher and it's an interesting vibe on this one for sure! When the pace picks up a bit the faster guitar and drums both sound great and things sound very smooth and epic. Sanders screams a solid new verse after a couple rounds and Hinds follows with a guitar solo that is pretty simple (and slightly disappointing) but it's okay I guess. The next riff with Hinds and Kelliher syncing up for some loud and epic stuff sounds way better and this is a nice way to wrap things up. The next track is "Island" and they dive right into a furious main riff with some super fast and awesome drums by Dailor and both guitarists playing different but similar riffs so it sounds like you're being attacked from all sides! Sanders is screaming heavily to match the mood and things are super intense and heavy, I love it! Towards the end they incorporate a little groove with some cool bass by Sanders, but they still maintain the onslaught of heaviness throughout the whole song. Definitely my favourite so far! Track 5 is "Iron Tusk" and Dailor is firing away with some great drums right from the get-go and Sanders and Kelliher provide a heavy and cool rhythm section. Hinds plays a pretty catchy and groovy lead guitar riff and Sanders does a great job with some stop-and-start screaming at the right heavy moments. Dailor is really one incredible drummer as he is relentlessly all over the place this whole song! With the same heaviness and grooviness as the last song, this is quite the back-to-back of heavy goodness! Up next is "Megalodon" and it starts with an acoustic intro with Hinds playing some fast and pretty cool stuff! Then they finally snap into a more typical thrash-y main riff with all the usual Mastodon hallmarks. Hinds does a really cool segue at one point with a little Southern guitar flair that somehow leads to some more heavy and thrash-y goodness! These guys just don't let up! Another pretty awesome tune! Track 7 is "Naked Burn" and Kelliher follows the template by starting us off with a cool rhythm guitar riff for the rest of the band to build around. They build a solid main riff with the usual hallmarks of some cool lead guitar and some pretty sweet, speedy drumming and Sanders sings in a voice that isn't very heavy at times, but still sounds good, but the does mix in some more typical raspy screaming at times as well. The fact that this is one of the least exciting songs on the album just shows the high bar they have set, because this was still a good song for sure, just not as captivating. Speaking of captivating, the next track is "Aqua Dementia" and Hinds is playing a great riff that could easily be described as a solo, while of course Dailor plays some super fast and technical drums behind him in this awesome opening. It also features guest vocals by Scott Kelly of the band Neurosis and his high screams add an atypical but nice addition to things. It combines nicely with Sanders lower singing and they segue back-and-forth tons between this fast and wicked riff, and a slower, sludgier and heavy one that sounds cool. Somehow it All flows pretty smoothly though and this was another well above average tune! Track 9 is called "Hearts Alive" and it's by far the longest song Mastodon have written at this point at 13:39! It opens with a nice melodic riff with some pretty cool acoustic guitar by Hinds leading the way. This smooth and melodic opening goes on for a little over two minutes, then they nicely ramp up from here as the pace increases with a nice new drum beat and an epic new guitar riff. Hinds is playing some heavy and wicked guitar now and Sanders finally comes in with some long shouts and some surprisingly smooth low singing vocals that match the mood very nicely. Eventually he mixes in some screaming, but they are back to the melodic part at that point so it's quite an interesting mix! They show off their progressiveness nicely with lots of smooth and interesting segues in this lengthy song! Words couldn't possibly describe every little section, but there's lots of melodic goodness as well as lots of heavy and technical awesomeness and it's all one very smooth almost fourteen minute ride! Hinds delivers a lengthy guitar solo towards the end and it's arguably his beat of the album with all kinds of awesome shredding going on! After the solo they jam out a new heavy riff right to the finish to complete this pretty sweet tune! Just like on their debut, they end the album with an instrumental song, this one called "Joseph Merrick" and it has Kelliher on acoustic rhythm guitar while Hinds plays a light electric guitar riff and they combine nicely for an atypically quite light but interesting main riff. They play off each other really nicely and words don't do justice to the chemistry these two guitarists have to work with what the other one is putting out. It's a strange way to end such a heavy and technical album, but it is still a good song for sure, very unique and interesting!

That is the end of "Leviathan" and I thought it was another pretty sweet album by Mastodon! Brann Dailor continues to be an absolutely amazing drummer in pretty much every song and there is all kinds of interesting, technical and heavy music from the rest of the guys. Troy Sanders expands his vocals more with a few different styles and somehow these guys have made Moby Dick into some pretty killer metal! I think it's really close with "Remission", but the unrelenting heaviness of their debut album gives it the slight edge. But this was a very strong second and I can't wait to see where Mastodon go next!