Following last year?s definitive black metal highlight, Leviathan returns and your Whorror is about to begin! Prolific madman Wrest again challenges both his creative capabilities and the conventional trappings of "black m... more »etal". Witness what happens when the "rules" of black metal are thrown out, yet its true artistic essence is upheld. Witness what it?s like within the Tentacles of Whorror. "The Future of Black Metal." ? ANVIL MAGAZINE "Simply, the most mesmerizing, transcendental Black Metal ever put to tape."- TERRORIZER« less
Following last year?s definitive black metal highlight, Leviathan returns and your Whorror is about to begin! Prolific madman Wrest again challenges both his creative capabilities and the conventional trappings of "black metal". Witness what happens when the "rules" of black metal are thrown out, yet its true artistic essence is upheld. Witness what it?s like within the Tentacles of Whorror. "The Future of Black Metal." ? ANVIL MAGAZINE "Simply, the most mesmerizing, transcendental Black Metal ever put to tape."- TERRORIZER
CD Reviews
One of the Best Releases in BM in Years! Terrifying USBM!
p_drl | 03/23/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The last few years in black metal has seen the slow but strong rise of USBM (black metal bands from the US) bands like Demoncy, Judas Iscariot, Absu, Krieg, and Grand Belial's Key. Even more recently has emerged the "So-Cal" BM scene with the distorted minds of people like Wrest of Leviathan and madman Malfeic of Xasthur. They all have one thing in common, though; Each band plays its own unique brand of black metal, throwing the original rules and aesthetics out, but staying true to the basic principles. Some play ultra-raw, primitive, and minimalist black metal in the vein of Darkthrone and Burzum; and others like Xasthur and Leviathan play a type of depressive, emotive, and droning black metal with distortion-soaked vocals, an unsettling dark ambient-like atmosphere, and a wall of noisy guitars. The wall of noise, when deciphered, holds many suicidal and droning melodies similar to that of Burzum, Graveland, Ildjarn, and Abyssic Hate. It's truly a sound to behold, and definitely isn't friendly to the ears.
However, I'm not comparing Leviathan to Xasthur at all. Wrest plays the drums himself, and does very well with stampeding blasts, galloping double bass, and inventive fills. (Unlike Judas Iscariot's sloppy Darkthrone-esque grinding.) The production isn't as nearly as harsh or muffled as Xasthur either. It's still VERY raw and tinged with echoes and reverbs, but the guitars are discernable and there is clarity to be found, especially when it comes to the bass guitar. Overall, the sound here seems "heavier" and more organic than that of Xasthur.
The guitars have a very eerie downtuned feel to them, and use a SICK distortion, sounding like a buzzsaw revved up to 100 mph. It seems a but distasteful at first, but with closer listening, the guitars reveal some excellent playing and trance-inducing melodies, which adds to the nightmarish, suicidal atmosphere. The slower parts are CREEPY... Every time I listen to the title track or the end of "Vexed and Vomit Hexed", I cannot help but to feel like I am falling into the deepest black hole known to man, where no light or positivity exists. The album as a whole has a crushing atmosphere, and it will rape your sanity into oblivion. Wrest's tortured cries are soaked in distortion and reverb, like a lost soul screaming in pain in the deepest abyss. If you listen to this album at night, you will swear to yourself that you're sinking into utter bleakness and a state of pure depression. All of the tracks here are absolute genius, and I can't find a single thing wrong with it. (Though my faves are tracks 4,5,7, and 9.) The production is raw, but holds the essence of all instruments well.
If you're looking for haunting, suicidal, depressive black metal, this is definitely worth picking up. Reccommended to fans of Ildjarn, Graveland, Burzum, Darkthrone, and Abyssic Hate. By far the best metal album of 2004."
Post-Black-Metal
General Zombie | the West | 02/20/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"To be perfectly blunt, I don't listen to all that much Black Metal. There are still a number of really great bands out there, and Leviathan is one of the best. This album is pretty different from their last (well, his last, since it's just one guy), as it's got quite a bit better production and is less purist, with something of a post-rock flavor to it at times. This will potentially upset a few utter diehards, but most rational individuals can tell that this doesn't even the slightest hint of commercialism. And the better production is still far from sharp and professional. Basically, it means that they turned the white noise generator down to low and actually miced the drums. Personally I like this approach, because as much as I like 'The Tenth Sub-Level of Suicide' I get the impression that the impact would wear off eventually if Wrest didn't change things up a little. And, despite the different approach, 'Tentacles of Whorror' has much the same tone as that album, though it is perhaps not quite as dark.
The album starts out a bit more straight forward for the first 4 or so tracks, mostly just lotsa speedy, raw black metal riffs with a few interludes and a couple slightly thrashier riffs thrown in at a few points. (Rather reminds me of Sepultura's 'Schizophrenia' at a few points.) There's quite a bit more slow, atmospheric stuff in the second half of the album, particularly the haunting and low-key second half of 'Vexed and Vomit Hexed' and the endless droning title track. There is also some ambient electronic flavoring as well, which works pretty nicely. (Particularly note the bizarre, minimalist closing track, 'The History of Rape') Overall I'd say the slower, more ambient stuff is probably more memorable, though the more purely BM material is still very good. Some of the best I've heard, as a matter of fact. Also, Wrest remains one of the most powerful black metal shriekers around, with great distorted howling and croaking. Very eerie stuff.
Yeah, I like it."
My favorite black metal band EVER
progpatron01 | mn | 12/04/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The first release I got from Leviathan was the first full album 'tenth sub level of suicide' (possibly the greatest album ever imo). After that I bought the amazing Varrater release which is a compilation of some of his demo work,- very very good. When the new album came out I of course couldnt wait for amazon to get it up (it took like 3 months!!!) I ordered direct from moribundcult. It was everything I expected and more, its the sickest, weirdest, and even most emotional black metal you will ever hear. Wrest (their only member) is a total genious, BUY THIS ALBUM!!!!"
Four and a half stars for this sick and scary soundtrack
Joseph R. Moore | Los Angeles | 11/21/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This album may be part of a series of albums I am developing as part of an Amazon.com Listmania entitled "Soundtracks to the scariest Halloween haunted houses". There are black metal albums that could be deemed the soundtracks to hell, i.e. 1349's "Hellfire" or any of Dark Funeral's albums, but Leviathan, as well as Xasthur, Emperor's "In the Nightside" and "Anthems...", a few of Cradle of Filth albums (yes, to the uninitiated, the average Cradle of Filth album prior to "Damnation..." sounds scary indeed), to name a few, could be ideally used as the soundtracks to something you would hear in a nice, creepy Halloween haunt.
That said, I have found there are two ways to listen to this album: either in a Halloween haunted house over loud speakers (perhaps a real haunted house, if you believe in such), or through your headphones in a darkened room or walking through a forest at nighttime. To borrow a cliché about a lot of Burzum-inspired black metal music, atmosphere is key here. If you commit yourself and all of your auditory as well as visual sensibilities to playing this album in dark surroundings, as opposed to listening to it on your car stereo in the middle of the day, then the phrase "transcendental black metal" will be quite fitting. You will feel the dark mood of the album affect you as each track goes through multiple layers of composition; the combination of grinding blast beats, buzzing riffs, and even uncanny guitar picking at the beginning and end of on "What Fresh Hell"; the slow rhythm and buzzing guitar riffs on "Deciphering Legend Within The Serpent's Briar", which develops near the end of the track into a turbulent windstorm of ambient noise and chants by Wrest, leading into the soft and melancholy drone of "A Necessary Mutilation" (my favorite part of the album is the transition between these two phenomenal tracks).
I could go on about all the other tracks, but you should get the idea from both the aforementioned descriptions on my part as well as the other Amazon.com reviewers that this is a multi-layered, multi-dimensional album that sets the mood for everything that is grim and macabre. Wrest appears to have gone through pain-staking production efforts to create the atmosphere and echoes of an individual screaming and moaning in a dark forest or even at the bottom of a well somewhere in a deserted town, and again, I believe the experience comes down to where and how you listen to this album.
There are some weak points at the tail end , namely, the bland drum hook that introduces "Mouth Orifice Bizarre", and the even more bland and redundant atmospheric drone of "The History of Rape". Both songs will probably have their respective defenders, but these tracks do the rest of "Tentacles..." no justice in my humble opinion. As a result, I docked the album half a star, which may seem somewhat marginal but I cannot say "Tentacles..." is flawless. I can say that the album, after repeated listens, has exceeded my expectations for low-fi, atmospheric, bleak, and "Halloween-haunted-house-soundtrack" black metal.
"
A whole new level of black metal
J. Holmes | yokohama, japan | 10/30/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"California has been the surprise breeding ground for some excellent black metal in recent years. with Xasthur, Ludicra, Crebain, and the prolific one man black metal assault that is Wrest, the mastermind behind Leviathan. i got my first taste of Leviathan's dark, art-damaged music on the Verrater release; which was a double disc set of old demos released on the excellent Tumult record label. i was blown away by that cd...and that was only a collection of demos; how good could a real full-length be? well, the supremely-titled Tentacles Of Whorror does not dissapoint. in fact, it only goes deeper into the underlit dank cavern of Leviathan's twisted and bleak audio devilry. his vocals are truly chilling, laced with distortion almost to the point of being overblown, it adds a tremendous paranoid and frenzied feeling to the music. this is a one man black metal band, and like most one man bands of this ilk (Burzum, Benighted Leams, etc.) the music adheres to a distinct and tightly executed vision. Wrest is in total control over every single element to this music and it's grip on the listener is overwhelming and impressive. this is dirty, filthy, black metal; filled with buzzsaw guitars, fast drumming, howling agonizing vocals, and hateful sentiments. but along with all of these grim BM traditions, there's plenty of forward thinking as well. the compositions involve multiple time changes, spooky ambient interludes, and a tasteful sense of artiness that makes me think that Wrest is influenced as much by progressive rock, thrash, drone, and experimental music as much as metal made by his fellow blackened bretheren. this is not to say that this isn't "true" black metal; because it is. there are no rap cameos or funky beats littering up this harsh landscape; but there are plenty of subtle touches that enforce the quality and power of this unique and essential black metal thunder (from sunny California, of all places!). hail!"
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1