Fall of Leviathan – In Waves

The nautical theme grabbed my interest. An instrumental album, atmospheric soundscape / metal hybrid. Most heavy metal themes revolve around witches, apocalypse, and monsters. The Swiss quintet’s debut album is a six-song set covering nearly a full hour of music. The ensemble: drums, electric bass, two guitars and synthesizer. The result is a colossal sound.

The band describes the In Waves musical journey, “slow, introspective and emotive melodies that reflect the calmness and vastness of the sea before submerging into the depths of the ocean offering some heavy and doomy riffs that perfectly recreate the oppressive and cold atmosphere of the abysses.” Influences come to mind, Godspeed you! Black Emperor, Mogwai, June of 44 and hints of the post punk/doom greats, Neurosis.

“Nantucket”, the opening track is a 7-minute sonic voyage on an electronic ocean, simulating maelstrom seas, and times of placid, calm. A song infusing moments of metal excellence, tumbling, and rolling in the midst of a melodic soundscape.

“Pacific”, the longest song on the album, aptly titled, is a 13-minute epic. The track opens with a feedback squall. One will envision stormy seas surrounding an ocean-going vessel bobbing and rolling in stormy seas. White caps, breaking over the craft. Bracing for a rogue wave smashing the crew, sending them to the bottom of the vast sea. Soon the angry storm subsides, calm seas ahead, for now…

The shortest song on the album, “Spermwhale” is a meeting of Isis and Tortoise. Two bands seemingly unrelated. Somewhere in the middle of heavy metal-tinged music and massive sprawling waves of sound. The video is absolutely captivating. All the creative awards from music to videos, to artistic creativity must include this epic visual if not crown it as a video of the year.

“Ahkab”, the finale is a force. The drum and percussion emulate a dark, brutal sea. Wrecking fleets of ships, snapping masts, smashing the hulls onto black rocks jutting out of the angry ocean. The 10-minute song conjures images of the lucky few making it ashore, grasping handfuls of coarse sand. The outro feedback is a fitting closure to the power and unpredictable nature of water.

The album is a collection of songs best played in its entirety. An excellent music set to play as background music for a creative session, equally an album played with no other distractions. Headphones jacked in, immerse in the sonic odyssey. https://www.facebook.com/FallOfLeviathan