VELVET THUNDER

Inspired by nautical themes and the Deep Blue Yonder, Fall of Leviathan is a post-rock and post-metal band from Switzerland, whose sound can be described as a blend of Mogwai and Neurosis, with more than a dash of Dawnwalker. Also for fans of Russian Circles, Mono, Rosetta, Mouth of the Architect, you get the idea…

Set to be released on March 1st, the Fall of Leviathan debut album In Waves showcases the band’s penchant for layering dark, heavy tones with graceful and ethereal melodies, resulting in an unpredictable journey that’s equal parts a touch gloomy whilst always beautifully emotive.   

There are six tracks on here, all of which share a sense of melody, often calm, always engaging and always, dare I say it – immersive. The mix and production admirably captures the mood of the music, highlighting the contrast between clean, slow, introspective introductions; sparse yet emotive melodies that reflect the calmness and vastness of the sea before launching some beefy, doomy riffing – drawing the listener down into the oppressive and cold atmosphere of the abysses of the ocean’s depths. 

The opener Nantucket is a microcosm of all this, it starts on a gentle note with the Swiss quintet picking their way lightly through a melody that gradually builds in terms of percussion coming higher up the scales, keys beginning to emerge, drums coming to the fore, and then what could be the storm crashing onto a rocky shoreline in a sustained slab of Metal. Things settle and recede whilst a spoken extract from ?Moby Dick? reinforces that sense of calm before the storm, or indeed before the start of a voyage (Nantucket being where the ship in Moby Dick starts her voyage….) To me, the musical story-telling parallels with Dawnwalker are mightily strong and this band definitely merit the comparison.

The title track In Waves follows much the same compositional path, a nicely crisp opening movement – and that feels the appropriate description here – that lulls you into a peaceful frame of mind, enticing you into the ambient mood. I find their style quite hypnotic, the simplicity of the melody hooking me, knowing full well it’s going to get juicier. The second passage is nicely dense Metal without losing that tuneful vibe, and then we return to the cleaner melody only this time there’s what must be whale sounds echoing in the background. And very effective the sensation is too. The final section is a mid-paced gentle post-rock sound, still keeping that crisp, clean mesmeric melody, nigh on nine minutes has flown past – a quality composition.

Pacific is, literally (in the grammatically correct sense) a juggernaut, or leviathan, beast of a track. A harsh chord-line nails you to start with, before a soothing, quiet, almost tribal passage drifts in, soothing the brain cells with a delicious lullaby-like tune. I love the way this band uses the space between notes so effectively in often quite sparse arrangements, the old saying “less is more” certainly applies here. This track typifies how, decades earlier, this band would be tagged as psychedelic Prog, maybe on a par with Hawkwind’s softer moments? There’s a real sense of “hippy-ish” jamming, yet tightly structured and gradually working up the density to a dose of full-on Metal workout. It’s great, all 13 minutes of it!

Spermwhale by contrast weighs in at a tiny five minutes, following the same pattern of light and shade, soft melody alternating with heavy riffing. Red Bay is next, this one is nine minutes long and continues the same compositional style. And yet I find myself being sucked into the spacey vibe, these gentle intros are cunningly created to lure you in, chilled out, the overall production working especially well over headphones. Again the percussion has a touch of Tribal about it, interspersed with splashed (huh!) of seabirds and gentle wave action, all adding to that enjoyable immersion in the gradually expanding melody. Pastoral, and truly hypnotic, nine minutes again has just floated by…

The closing track Ahkab goes for the jugular from the off, Dawnwalker-style slabs of metal pinning your down to allow the gentle rhythms to wash over over you. There’s a lovely undercurrent of a deep-swelling sound that is almost shamanic to start with, before the band’s signature gradually developing sound platform ramps things up to a thoroughly heavyweight wall of sound in the middle section followed by another chunk of spoken narrative, it’s sounds taken from a old-school radio-play or similar, reminding me strongly of the technique espoused by Public Service Broadcasting on their wonderful Inform-Educate-Entertain album. The final section is a final slab of dark heavyweight Metal, Dawnwalker style – and another eleven minutes has washed over me!

Fall Of Leviathan is a band inspired – perhaps obsessed by – a maritime theme (intriguing for a Swiss band), and it’s got to me, I must apologise for all the sea-going allusions! But beyond that this is a skilfully crafted album that, although the formula is essentially the same from start to finish, at no time does it begin to pall or bore you, it is indeed an aural journey that has light and shade, immersing you in the compositions through an excellent sound-mix. I loved it!