Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Leviathan - Beyond The Gates Of Imagination Pt. 1 (2011)


A powerful album was released last year by Leviathan, and no I'm not talking about the sea beast. I'm talking about the young melodic death metal band from Germany. The five piece have put together some extraordinary music clashing together some outstanding guitar work along with powerful drum patterns that really give the band potential to stand out. The album does have a few draw backs to it but if you can get passed them then it's definitely an album worth hearing.

The first track, the "Prologue," opens up the album with a wildly melodic instrumental that blends melodic guitars with heavy chugging riffs along with soothing keyboards that float in the background. The drumming in this opener is overwhelming with shattering hi hats and thunderous kicks and snares. And if you like this then you're gonna love "Beneath A Blackened Sky." It opens with calm keyboards and strings that give a very medieval feel to the mix. Machine gun double bass pedals come roaring in with tremendous speed. Distorted guitars light up the track with reckless melodies that will blow your mind. The verses come in with very harsh growling and a very aggressive delivery. Unfortunately the growls lean more towards the lighter "hardcore" screams and really turned me off of the album. I think a set of solid death metal vocals would have been a lot better for this kind of music. The instruments continue to stay amazing in "Where Light And Death Unite" as they come through with a wicked guitar solo completely destroying the musical scale. Epic double bass pedals come rumbling in with relentless snares and exploding cymbals. This is all followed by an incredible piano solo that is absolutely astonishing.

Beautiful piano riffs open "Reaper's Edict" that immediately grab your attention. Distorted guitars fade in with the same melody adding a strong build up to the song. Soon after come booming drums that'll have you throwing your devil horns in the air. The verses are fill with detailed drum rolls that constantly change pattern and beat you into the ground. The vocals still have that weakness to them as they take over the verses. If they just dropped their tone to a deeper punch then i think they would be powerful. The guitars continue with their awesomeness giving you a wild guitar solo that will send chills down your spine. With all theses creative melodies from each instrument, it definitely had me going back and replaying this track a few times.

If you're loving the guitar work on this album as much as i am then you're gonna love "About Fangs And Feathers." It opens with a bone crushing guitar solo and complex drum rolls that will knock you right out of you chair. Catchy guitar riffs follow afterwords with monstrous chugging and heavy bass lines that play along side. The vocals switch up a lot in the track. Of course you have the heavier screaming and the higher pitched screaming but then you come across some clean vocals that seem like they really fit the music better. They add a more epic feel to the album and i definitely could picture more of this throughout the album. Besides this you're hit with another hell raising guitar solo along with some punishing drum rolls mixing toms, snares, and kicks with solid detail. You'll definitely find yourself going back to this track multiple times.

"Beyond The Gates Of Imagination Pt. 1" turns out to be a pretty awesome album setting aside the vocals. I think if they got some heavier death metal vocals in there music then then they would be set. The guitar work on the album is absolutely mind blowing and will definitely shock you the first time you hear it. The drumming was also very impressing giving tons of different blast beats complex rolls. Leviathan definitely has a lot of potential and it'l be interesting where they take their talents.

8/10

Myspace - http://www.myspace.com/leviathanmelodicdeath

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