| Reviews for Leviathan (Swe)'s Far Beyond the Light |
| Into the majestic emptiness... - 99% |
| Written by Kristenhat666
on December 8th, 2007
|
| Does being an outstanding musician mean that you will receive the acknowledgement you deserve? More often than not, the answer seems to be negative as far as the extreme Metal scene is concerned. LEVIATHAN, the personal project of Sir A. (Armagedda, among others), is one of those underrated bands. I don't think Sir A. ever aimed to become popular among any category of people, be it BM hordes or anyone else, but he would surely deserve praise! For "FAR BEYOND THE LIGHT" is an album that belongs at the top of any Black Metal fanatic's collection. The sound is nothing typical for Sir A.'s other releases. High frequencies are what one should expect on "FAR BEYOND THE LIGHT", so LEVIATHAN is not a band for people looking to find raw, primitive or UG Black Metal. On the contrary, the production is likely to put off anyone unable to tolerate high-fi sound. Now, I don't usually like such production myself, but on this opus, it's all for a good cause. "FAR BEYOND THE LIGHT" is marginally comparable to Burzum 's Filosofem, as it uses its studio sound to weave together layers of instruments in order to come up with a complete and complex wall of sound. LEVIATHAN is however not Burzum, which is only positive if you ask me. In fact, it would take anyone who plays this CD/LP several listenings to begin breaking through the thick wall of instrumental intricacy and to understand the depth of the music on it. And all of this is only possible thanks to the production chosen by the band. I guess what should be said about LEVIATHAN 's "FAR BEYOND THE LIGHT" is that the lyrics and music are more conceptual than on most other Black Metal releases, and they should not be analyzed separately. This album is truly mystical in its essence, and although the lyrics are not included in the booklet, the song titles seem to be inherent to the songs, as if the words were born straight out of the musical inspiration. One look at the tracks helps us realize that there can only be one outcome both on this album and in life itself- "The End", as the final song is called. "FAR BEYOND THE LIGHT" is a voyage through the bleak realms of life, where darkness, suffering and death are the only monarchs. If the circle of life that we all go through has ever been given a musical shape, then it's LEVIATHAN that have created the ultimate concept here. Most humans may not see life for what is, i.e a journey of suffering towards death, but A. has surely no problems staring into the eyes of reality. "FAR BEYOND THE LIGHT" is his own vision of what life actually is and what it means to him, of what humans are in his eyes and of his longing for the terminal darkness and "the majestic emptiness", to quote him. The music, sometimes fast, sometimes mid-paced, carries the listener with its black pulsating energy over the realms of life, which he thus gets to view from above and looks down on with scorn. Only the final song slows down completely, as if to pull the plug that keeps us all alive! So do not be cheated by the polished sound I mentioned earlier, this is not meant to be an agreeable experience. Negativity is the key word on "Far Beyond the Light", where LEVIATHAN hail eternal darkness, reject all light and await the ancient emptiness to swallow the world and put an end to human existence and life. Sounds like something you want to avoid, you say? Well, who the hell said that "FAR BEYOND THE LIGHT" was meant for usual people? If you exist in harmony with everything our earthly existence is, then LEVIATHAN have aimed their music against you! I personally find my strength and peace in realism, misanthropy and soul-consuming darkness, and this opus is but a hymn to the beauty that I admire in these domains and especially the one that awaits us in the embrace of emptiness...! |
| A transcendental journey through Oblivion - 90% |
| Written by mornox
on November 20th, 2003
|
| This has got to be one of the most deceptive cd’s I’ve heard in a while. ‘What’s so deceptive about this thing then?’ you may wonder. There are two layers of music at work here, not just in the guitar department, but even the drumwork for the most part consists of a double layer. It’s the Filosofem trick done in a new way. The first thing one is likely to hear upon initial listen is an extremely distorted, bottom-end heavy guitar spewing monotone ‘riffs’ over an extremely repetitive double-bass pummeling, while somewhere behind this impenetrable soundwall weak vocals are barely audible. However, repeated listens will enable one to hear a veritable maelstrom of bleak, alien-sounding riffs behind the wall and a second, much more varied drumpattern beneath the bass-drum pummeling. Upon even further listens the two layers even invert themselves in the mind, so that the bottom-end guitarwall and bass-drum become a type of ambient backdrop for the mutating riffs that form the core of this release, not unlike Pure Holocaust. Even the initially weak sounding vocals become more and more audible somehow, gaining in strength and malice with each repeated spin of this disc. The production that enables this effect is stellar indeed. The riffs themselves are firmly in the Thorns/Burzum schools of riff-building, yet do not sound derivative at all and form a true evolution of the style. The atmosphere evoked by the core-riffs (the ones behind the soundwall) is utterly alienating, the progressingly stranger songs representing in my view a spiritual journey through an infinite abyss towards Oblivion itself. The atmosphere perfectly represents the songtitles and overall aesthetic as presented in the photographs of a bleak, abandoned mansion done in the style of old brownish photo’s. The opening songs are the most standard in composition, representing a more mundane aspiration towards darkness, with the ending of the fourth track heralding fully the transcendental journey towards the Void with its closing jarring riffs. Then follows a nameless ambient-noise piece indicating a transition in style and indeed the last two proper metal-tracks are far more abstract in their delivery, overflowing with twisting riffs in counterpoint to one another, freakish leads spiralling around the crushingly despondant bottom-end guitar, finally culminating in the closing accoustic/synth track “The End”, a strangely soothing piece of music, as if to signify the end of the journey has been reached and a union with Oblivion, a release from this coarse material reality, has been realised. This is a tremendously powerful and evocative release for those willing to look beyond the murky surface. It’s far more varied in tempo, structure and riff-application than it initially appears; there are usually two or three distinct riff-patterns playing simultaneously, giving texture to each other through interplay and to themselves by successive little mutations of the starting patterns and the buried core-drumming is perfect in giving added significance to certain parts, building tension, adding in varied little fills while never being distractingly flashy (á la Fenris circa UaFM). This is my pick for the best Swedish release since Bathory’s Hammerheart and fans of intelligent, contemplative and genuinely dark black metal should seek this out immediately. After the first few listens a whole Abyss of dreadfullness shows itself to the attentive listener. |