Yes is came out awhile ago, but i got money to purchase it, and it has to be one of my all time favorite Leviathan albums yet.

To me it really picked up where Tentacle Of Whorror left off, and it adds one more collection to my Leviathan collection.

what did you guys think of it.
that is if we have leviathan fans out there.. =D

Hail Wrest!!!!!:bow:

It seemed like a half-assed album to me. He should have stopped with the brilliant Tentacles of Whorror.

really? what songs did you not like off the album though?? i personally didnt think it was that half assed

I really liked it, though I still think Wrest is one of the most pretentious artists in the scene. That could be the reason the music is so good, however. Something to dwell on...

I think that's probably a bit harsh, but it's true that it's not as good as his early work. However, on the other hand, it felt to me that he was trying to do something different on this album; I don't think Wrest is much of one to release the same album twice. Also, he definitely had some excellent ideas on the album, but his previous albums were so good that they overshadowed Massive Conspiracy by comparison.

Nonetheless, as a Leviathan fanboy, I proudly own a copy of the CD and I certainly enjoy it.

yeah definately, it wasnt his BEST cd, but i think it was absolutely brilliant, most people that have said it was "Half Assed" really havent given much time to really listen to the album and appreciate it.

Just put it in, and listen to it all the way through.

I have enjoyed every Leviathan record I have purchased, and this one is on my list for a near future buy....

A decent album in itself, but as a farewell album it's only disappointing.

Honestly haven't heard any Leviathan apart from this album, I really like it, and the band is on my list of bands to get more of, it just takes time to get through so many bands.

For some reason I could never get into Tentacles of Whorror, and never really understood why others thought it was so great. That said, I really like The Tenth Sub Level of Suicide and Massive Conspiracy Against All Life. I preferred The Tenth Sub Level, but I honestly think that the two are at times a bit difficult to compare. Massive Conspiracy just has a more occult, ritualistic feel to it. The beginning of Merging with the Sword, Unto Them is mesmerizing as fuck, and I get that throughout the album. The Tenth Sub Level just doesn't have that element to it, though I still really like that album for different reasons.

I think it's his best album. I bought the LP version which comes with the bonus track Perverse Calculus and the song is definitely one of his best ever. I really hope this is not the last Leviathan album, as I prefer Leviathan to Lurker of Chalice.

I agree.

The best parts of Tentacles were the ambient parts. The metal was really lacking on that album. Even his splits are better.

Massive Conspiracy is a good album, the only problem is that Leviathan's other albums were even better. If it was the only thing i'd heard by them, i'd love it. as it is, it's just good. Beating something like Tenth Sublevel is a pretty fucking tough thing to do...

As a side note, i was ridiculously disappointed to learn that Leviathan was done. i preferred them to LoC, although i love both. is there any word on Lurker's next release?

Three-quarter-assed.

Wrest was going through some issues (legal issues with Moribund, overdosing on heroin, etc.) so it's doubtful he put everything he's got into the album. Overall, Massive Conspiracy... used a more stream-lined and ordinary black metal approach than Tentacles of Whorror and probably would have been praised highly if it had come out earlier in Leviathan's discography.

Opinions are opinions and all, but WHAT?

I'm aware of the issues with Moribund/Southern Lord/Battle Kommand etc but the overdosing on heroin, I've only seen that as a rumour that was going around. Source of it?

I enjoyed that album. My favroite tracks were Receive the World and Noisome Ash Crown. I thought that it was very interesting, and it held my attention throughout its entirety.

considering it has one of the best songs he's written on it ("Merging...") & the fact that it's cohesive (unlike Tentacles) and not ridden with a shit ear-destroying trebly production (Tenth Sublevel), i think it's his best work. very emotional.

The only amazing tracks are 'Mering with Sword...' and 'Vulgar Asceticism'; the latter having that highly memorable creepy atmospheric guitar section in the middle.

If Wrest and a bunch of other modern black metal artists would cut down greatly on ambient/synth/electronic parts and focus more on playing black metal, that'd be good. I mean, yeah, the ambient/trip-hop/whatever intro to 'Merging with Sword...' was interesting in creating in the way it created a hypnotic, ritualistic atmosphere, but then you had the mostly ambient last track (Noisome Ash Crown), which was seriously a boring, underwhelming way to end the album.

BAN (on 'The Work Which Transforms God') and DSO (on 'Fas') had the same problem of sticking random ambient crap in between their ambitious black metal, when it was not really needed.

good point, because we need more black metal played straight -- experimentation is unsuccessful and overrated

Vulgar Asceticism/flagellum raised to sky is an amazing song. I think that the whole album is good. Its in a bit of a different vein from the previous two full lengths, but I believe he was going for a merger between Leviathan and Lurker of Chalice, thus the results on the album.

Yeah, I had known of his issues with Moribund... but what's the deal with the heroin story?

I listened to this album sometime around midnight and though I was tired out of my mind, I managed to stay awake throughout the album. I'm pretty sure my exhaustion and darkness contributed to it, but this record had a pretty profound effect on me. Definitely not your average black metal album, or your average black metal band.

you can read alot about it on here!

hails to jeff hopefully things will look up for him.

http://www.smnnews.com/board/showthread.php?t=177528

The atmospheric elements of the bands are the main reasons that i like them so much. It's not head banging music, but rather stuff to loose yourself in.

Thinking along those lines, who here has his A Silhouette in Splinters, his all ambient work? What do you guys think of it? I have to say that i was a bit disapointed. It's pretty good, the only problem being that it's in a pretty different style than most of the Leviathan or Lurker of Chalice ambient bits. enjoyable, but less engrossing than i was expecting.

From reading that explanation on the argument, I must say that Blake from Nachtmystium seems much more in the right, and the other side sounds like a bunch of cry-babys, regardless of the musical quality of either band.

I can't say that I've ever cared to check out Nachtmystium, and with the current direction the project seems to be going I probably won't... as for Leviathan, I do enjoy parts of The Tenth Sublevel... but I haven't checked out anything else. I find it's hard to draw the line between being artistic and being pretentious with this kind project and the amount of hype it receives... I guess one day I'll just let the music speak for itself if I ever end up delving further into it.

I began listening to Massive Conspiracy and I just couldn't finish listening to it. I absolutly hated the fact that it sounded nothing like his old material and it sounded too much like Deathspell Omega. I prefer his older, rawer material. Tentacles and Sub-Level were really good, but his demo material has been my favorite overall. Some of his best songs are found in those demos.

What is Wrest doing nowadays? Last I heard he was going to release more albums with the LoC name, but I haven't heard any news on a new album so far. Anyone know for sure?

Just to be on the safe side, I ordered a red vinyl copy of this album. It could grow on me, and if not... well, I can just sell it on ebay.

It doesn't even begin to compare to Tentacle of Whorrors, however.. and I really wish I had been into the band and vinyl back when that was released, because I would love a copy.

the music quality is great, coming from the point that he records with an 8 track, its all home recorded, no fuckin studio recordings at all.

second the album is underrated, too many people have been saying it was a let down, but obviously havent given the album much listening time.

it atmospheric feel and the ambiance in the album is fucking brilliant, i really suggest people listening to the album with ear phones, you get more out of it.
In my opinion that is.

It was a letdown when you consider the previous album, but if you can manage to let it stand on its own and give it repeated listens, it starts to shine. It definitely meshes more as an album than previous efforts, as well.

When I get the LP, I'll crank it up and really soak it in.

I do like Leviathan, but I don't like it THAT much. In terms of Wrest, I do love Lurker Of Chalice. I wish he'd have spent more time developing that band as opposed to Leviathan.

yeah understandable, alot the songs off of Massive Conspiracy had a real Loc feel to is, the atmosphere and all.

favorite Loc song has to be Piercing Where They Might.
brilliant work

All that's in that thread is Blake countering the "intern at Moribund"'s comments, and a rumour about Wrest OD'ing. No actual fact or statement.

Yes, my memory of that exchange was cloudy. My bad.

'Seamless Garment As The Morning' seems to have a distinctive Lurker Of Chalice feel to it, but still, I'm prejudice towards Leviathan because of the self-titled Lurker record, its just so god damn good. Even more so in comparison to Leviathans work. 'This Blood Falls As Mortal Part III' or 'Vortex Chalice' are particular favourites of mine, particularly the former with its glorious use of samples at the beginning ... Wish I knew where that was taken from. I once read someone say its Gwyneth Paltrow talking ... Odd.

right i also love that song man, it just has a surreal feel to it, alot of feeling behind it.