Leviathan: Scar Sighted (2015)

As I have mentioned many times recently, I have been on a major black metal kick.  This has resulted in checking out a lot of bands that I have previously either actively avoided or just plain did not care enough about to listen.  Some of the bands I have gotten into includes Drudkh, Shining, Drowning the Light and many more.  One particular black metal scene that I have largely missed out on is the American depressive black metal scene, which is kind of odd since you know, I am in the U.S.  I have a Xasthur album, but until recently just never really cared much for it.  Leviathan is another such band that has just never been a priority for me to check out.  I decided to change that.

Wrest, the only member of Leviathan, is something of a controversial figure, especially in the last decade or so.  He had legal troubles with Moribund Records and had some criminal charges as well.  He was charged with multiple counts of sexual assault, but was found not guilty of everything except a domestic battery charge and was sentenced to two years of probation.  Despite being acquitted of most of the charges, it has been a long road back for Wrest.  Of course, he did not exactly help himself by releasing an album called True Traitor, True Whore afterwards.  By no means am I defending him here, the domestic battery is still a shitty thing to do.  But it was time to at least check out the music.

In reviewing information in anticipation of this review (I freely admit that I am not familiar with Leviathan's work previously), I learned that this album is fairly different from their previous material.  Specifically that there is more ambient material and some other influences that come forward.  So, I do not have much of a frame of reference for the band's prior material, but I can tell what is here.  There are definitely some odd moments and this is far from a straightforward black metal release.  At one point in the first true song, the music drops away to some subtle guitar noodling and narrated vocals.  At other points, the guitars come charging back in and Wrest affects an impressive death growl.  And at still other points, Leviathan barrels forward in a typical black metal style.  It is the constantly fluctuating style that makes this an intriguing listen.

One thing that is easy to tell from this release is that Wrest is going through some shit.  It is obvious how much of his heart and soul is poured into this project and it comes off strained and anguished and just frankly pissed off.  The emotion from this release is painfully clear.  It can be incredibly harsh at times, and at others, be absolutely gut-wrenchingly devastating.

This is my first experience with Leviathan and I came away very impressed.  It is one of the more emotional black metal releases I have heard in some time.  I am definitely going to keep my eye out for more of Wrest's material.  I may still skip True Traitor, True Whore though.