I remember how excited I was when I first heard Leviathan‘s “Far Beyond the Light” CD in 2002. Back in the day this record was one of those true underground gems which I appreciated a lot. Even today, after so many years, when I go back to that album, I am still amazed how good it is. So imagine my surprise when I found out that after 18 years of ghastly silence Leviathan will release another record this autumn.
Released on the 10th of September on tape and CD formats by Bile Noire and France D’Oil respectively, the new album will also come out on vinyl on the 12th of October, through Nebular Carcoma. Interesting enough, all three versions will come with a different cover so this will be a good opportunity to buy them all!
After having listened to the new stuff many times in order to fully absorb it, I can only say that with “Förmörkelse” (Eclipse, in Swedish) Phycon has created a superb album, darker and more atmospheric than the debut material. So far this wait has been definitely worth it.
But let me detail this a bit. If you are familiar with the debut album, do not expect this new one to sound the same as its predecessor. “Förmörkelse” is a very different entity than “Far Beyond the Light” and it shows a very big progress from the previous work. The only thing these two records have in common is the same disturbing darkness which wraps the listener from the first notes of the records. The rest is called evolution.
The first thing I find interesting about “Förmörkelse” is that it’s not your average blast beat festival of an album, on the contrary. While it still contains the main characteristics of a traditional black metal record (“Avgrundens Återsken” and the title track, “Förmörkelse“, are the best proof for that), it also displays a more sinister and melodic side of the band, which will definitely put you into a more desolated state of mind. The slower passages and the acoustic guitars mix very well with the aggressive parts, providing a suitable balance between violence and gloominess during the 48 minutes of the album.
By slowing down a bit, Phycon instilled an even greater sense of depression to his music, without losing any of those sinister vibes. On tracks like “Svart” or “Melakolins Ävja” these mid-tempo and dark vibes, so specific to the Swedish (or should I say, Nordic?) melancholy, intertwine perfectly with the savagery of the blast beats and the viciousness of the guitar riffs.
When it comes to the vocals, let me tell you that I absolutely love them. Over these years of Leviathan‘s absence Phycon has improved his singing as well and throughout the album he switches from traditional black metal voices to deeper, cavernous tones which highlight this sinister aspect I already talked about.
The second interesting thing about this new record is the presence of a few special guests, other musicians who have also left their musical mark on this masterpiece, in a way or another. Among these guests, Phycon invited the Drapsnatt guys who have each played a part on this record – Vinterfader wrote the short “noisy” like intro “XVII” and Narstrand played the guitar solo on “Förbannelsen“. On “Verklighetens Väv“, Matte Marklund (Otyg/Vintersorg) plays a beautiful and haunting guitar solo at the end of the song, while the choruses in the beginning of “Förbannelsen” are created by Oscar Boström.
The album ends with a beautiful instrumental piece called “Pestens Sigill“, which basically contains the whole essence of the record in just 3 and a half minutes. This mournful farewell is the perfect ending for such a melancholic (and also violent) album, an amazing comeback for Leviathan and one of the biggest musical surprises of 2020 (together with Armagedda‘s return).
I truly hope this review will make you appreciate “Förmörkelse” for what it really is, besides an unexpected record: the work of an artist who put a lot of passion and time in his music and his skills, ignoring the so-called trends and expectations of the “scene”. Leviathan was born in the underground and there is where it still dwells. Hail the Eclipse!!
Line-Up:
Phycon – vocals, all instruments
Leviathan – “Förmörkelse” track list:
1. XVII
2. Avgrundens Återsken
3. Förmörkelse
4. Svart
5. Förbannelsen
6. Verklighetens Väv
7. En Tidlös Illvilja
8. Melankolins Ävja
9. Babylons Sand
10. Pestens Sigill
Band contact:
scrollsofdarmoth.com 