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Leviathan (Mastodon album)

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Leviathan
Studio album by
Mastodon
ReleasedAugust 31, 2004
RecordedMarch 2004
StudioRobert Lang Studios, Studio Litho, and the Electrokitty Sound Studio, Seattle, Washington
Genre
Length46:43
LabelRelapse
ProducerMastodon, Matt Bayles
Mastodon chronology
Remission
(2002) 		Leviathan
(2004) 		Call of the Mastodon
(2006)
Special edition/Vinyl cover
Singles from Leviathan
  1. "Iron Tusk"
    Released: August 2004[2]
  2. "Naked Burn"
    Released: 2004[3]
  3. "Blood and Thunder"
    Released: 2005[4]

Leviathan is the second album by American heavy metal band Mastodon, released in 2004 on Relapse Records. It is Mastodon's first concept album, loosely based on the 1851 novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. The songs "Iron Tusk," "Naked Burn," and "Blood and Thunder" were released as promotional singles, and music videos were created for "Iron Tusk," "Blood and Thunder," and "Seabeast". Three magazines awarded the album Album of the Year in 2004: Revolver, Kerrang! and Terrorizer. In 2009 and 2015 MetalSucks named Leviathan the best metal album of the 21st century.

Leviathan was also released with an audio DVD in a limited edition set with a black and gold slipcase. The album brought Mastodon widespread critical acclaim and, together with the ensuing tour, greatly extended their fan base. It sold 106,000 copies by September 2006.[5] Guitarist Bill Kelliher considers this album a representation of the water element, in keeping with the elemental tetralogy of the band's first four albums.[6]

Videography

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The "Tour Edition" CD was released in 2005 which in addition to the main album contained the videos for "Iron Tusk" and "Blood and Thunder". The Tour Edition is presented in a slipcase which shows the complete cover artwork, rather than the detail of the whale shown on the standard edition. This is also the cover for the vinyl edition. A video for "Seabeast" was completed in 2006.[7]

Packaging

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Cover art and booklet artwork was done by Paul Romano.[8] The white tower seen in the artwork on the inside cover of the booklet is a revamped version of Martin Heemskerck's 16th-century interpretation of the Pharos of Alexandria.[citation needed] The wave seen in the full picture of the artwork is a reflection of Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa.

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Blender[10]
Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles9/10[11]
Drowned in Sound9/10[12]
Kerrang![13]
Metal Storm9.0/10[14]
Pitchfork8.5/10[15]
Rock Hard8.5/10[16]
SpinA[17]
Terrorizer9/10[18]

Placing Mastodon "among the elite of bands" on the strength of Leviathan, Avi Pitchon wrote in Terrorizer that the album "rampages through in a shining epic flow, the 'crazy' parts never separate from the classic metal parts".[18] Online music magazine Pitchfork Media placed Leviathan at number 126 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s.[19] In 2009, MetalSucks compiled a list of the "21 Best Metal Albums of the 21st Century So Far" based on the opinions of various musicians, managers, publicists, label representatives and writers, on which Leviathan was placed at number one.[20] The album was honored with a 2004 Metal Storm Award for Best Alternative Metal Album.[21] In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked Leviathan 46th on their list of "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".[22] German magazine Rock Hard ranked Leviathan ninth on the list of the 15 most important progressive metal albums.[23]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Mastodon.

No.TitleLength
1."Blood and Thunder" (featuring Neil Fallon)3:48
2."I Am Ahab"2:45
3."Seabeast"4:15
4."Ísland"3:26
5."Iron Tusk"3:03
6."Megalodon"4:22
7."Naked Burn"3:42
8."Aqua Dementia" (featuring Scott Kelly)4:10
9."Hearts Alive"13:39
10."Joseph Merrick" (instrumental)3:33
Total length:46:43

On the vinyl editions, "I Am Ahab" and "Ísland" are moved to tracks 7 and 8, respectively.

Mastodon box set vinyl bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."The Bit" (Melvins cover)Osborne, Crover4:29
12."Emerald" (Thin Lizzy cover)Gorham, Downey, Robertson, Lynott3:52
13."Orion" (Metallica cover)Burton, Hetfield, Ulrich8:25
DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Naked Burn" (5.1 surround)3:42
2."Aqua Dementia" (5.1 surround)4:10
3."Hearts Alive" (5.1 surround)13:39
4."Where Strides the Behemoth" (Live)3:17
5."Battle at Sea" (Live)4:11
6."Thank You for This / We Built This Come Death" (Live)4:01
7."Crusher Destroyer" (Live)2:06
Total length:35:06
[edit]

"Blood and Thunder" was featured on the soundtracks for Alone in the Dark, The Cave, Metal Lords, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Saints Row, Rocksmith 2014, Project Gotham Racing 3, Splatterhouse and Guitar Hero Metallica, in addition to featuring on the film The Big Short. The song was available as downloadable content for Rock Band and features an optional Pro Guitar upgrade for Rock Band 3.

"Megalodon" was featured as downloadable content for Rock Band and was released through the Rock Band Network.

"Iron Tusk" was featured in the soundtrack for Tony Hawk's American Wasteland and NHL 2K9.

The song "Ísland" was briefly featured in a scene in Monsters University.[24]

Personnel

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Band

[edit]

Guest musicians

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Other credits

[edit]
  • Matthew F. Jacobson – executive producer
  • Alan Douches – mastering
  • Paul A. Romano – artwork, design

Charts

[edit]
Chart (2004-2006) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[25] 110
US Billboard 200[26] 139
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[27] 5
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[28] 13

References

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  1. ^ Leivers, Dannii (March 31, 2017). "Emperor of Sand by Mastodon". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  2. ^ "Mastodon Iron Tusk (Single)". Spirit of Metal. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  3. ^ "Discography: Promos". mastodonaustralia.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2008. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  4. ^ "Mastodon Blood & Thunder (Single)". Spirit of Metal. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  5. ^ "Rock Climbing". Billboard. October 14, 2006. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  6. ^ "MASTODON (TROY SANDERS/BILL KELIHER) INTERVIEW". Terrorverlag GbR Musik Magazine. October 11, 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2007.
  7. ^ "MASTODON - 'SEABEAST' VIDEO AVAILABLE". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. March 20, 2006. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  8. ^ "Mastodon - Leviathan Standard Ed. CD". Workhardened.com. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  9. ^ Kergan, Wade. "Leviathan – Mastodon". Allmusic. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  10. ^ "Blender is coming soon". Archived from the original on October 19, 2006. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  11. ^ Popoff, Martin (September 8, 2004). "MASTODON - LEVIATHAN". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  12. ^ Hocking, Mat (November 19, 2004). "Mastodon - Leviathan". Drowned In Sound. Archived from the original on June 10, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  13. ^ Lawson, Dom (August 28, 2004). "Rated: Albums". Kerrang!. No. 1020. EMAP. p. 39.
  14. ^ "Mastodon - Leviathan review - Metal Storm". metalstorm.net.
  15. ^ Isaiah, Violante (December 16, 2004). "Mastodon: Leviathan". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  16. ^ "Rock Hard review". issue 209.
  17. ^ "Spin review". Oct 2004. October 2004.
  18. ^ a b Pitchon, Avi (September 2004). "Mastodon - Leviathan". Terrorizer (123): 54.
  19. ^ Pitchfork staff (September 28, 2009). "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 200-151". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  20. ^ Neilstein, Vince (July 7, 2009). "The Real #1: Mastodon - Leviathan". MetalSucks. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  21. ^ "Metal Storm Awards 2004 - Metal Storm". www.metalstorm.net. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  22. ^ "Rolling Stone Share Their Choices For 'The 100 Greatest Metal Albums Of All Time'". Theprp.com. June 21, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  23. ^ Boris Kaiser/Michael Rensen: Die 15 wichtigsten Progressive-Metal-Alben. In: Rock Hard, June 2010, p. 95.
  24. ^ "Disney-Pixar's "Monsters University" Hits Campus with Music from Randy Newman and Axwell & Sebastian Ingrosso of Swedish House Mafia". PR Newswire (Press release). May 22, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  25. ^ "Chart Log UK: M – My Vitriol". zobbel.de. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  26. ^ "Mastodon Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  27. ^ "Mastodon Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  28. ^ "Mastodon Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
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