LEVIATHAN

I was completely let down by this very overrated release. Mastadon's reputation suggests some serious artistic metal, while not necessarily falling into the "prog" category. What I found was a loud and unimaginative mess; there is little of substance here beyond the gimmick of the album's literary inspiration.

Instrumentally, the band isn't bad-- but they don't come close to the type of virtuosity prevalent in the genre. Once needn't look hard to find more dynamic musicians doing more interesting things with their instruments. Moreover, the songwriting is very repetitive, with the band taking very few moments that demonstrate any kind of versatility. It's all loud, all the time... it's too bad that Mastadon's loud is just boring. Compare to other metal bands which compose slow, or softer songs intermixed with their heavy ones-- which punctuates the intensity more than straight-ahead rocking.

However, the main detraction is the very weak growling, which sounds anemic when set aside the chugging guitars and drums. Mastadon should find ways to accommodate the singer's voice or jettison the growling altogether; it doesn't get the job done.

The final word is that there isn't anything on this album that isn't done better elsewhere. Songwriting: 2 Instrumental Performances: 3 Lyrics/Vocals: 2 Style/Emotion/Replay: 2