Leviathan

Listening to Leviathan is like descending into a basement that hasn't been opened in decades. The sound is thick with a sense of rot and isolation, characterized by guitars that swirl in dissonant, sickly patterns rather than traditional riffs. It is music that feels physically heavy, not just through volume, but through a dense layering of noise, tape hiss, and tortured vocal performances that sound like they are being transmitted from another room.

What truly sets this project apart is the way Jef Whitehead (Wrest) incorporates elements of dark ambient and noise into the black metal framework. Instead of the typical 'forest' aesthetic of the genre, Leviathan feels urban and industrial, capturing the specific anxiety of a cramped apartment or a decaying city. The drumming is particularly inventive, moving from frantic blast beats to strange, stumbling rhythms that keep the listener in a state of constant unease.

For those new to this abyss, the 2003 masterpiece 'The Tenth Sub Level of Suicide' is the essential starting point. It defines the 'suicidal black metal' sound while remaining more musically complex than its peers. If you prefer something with more modern production and avant-garde flourishes, 'Scar Sighted' offers a more expansive, though no less terrifying, experience.