LEVIATHAN (CA) — True Traitor, True Whore (review)

LEVIATHAN (CA) — True Traitor, True Whore album cover Album · 2011 · Black Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"True Traitor, True Whore" is the 5th full-length studio album by US black metal act Leviathan. The album was released through Profound Lore Records in November 2011. Leviathan is a one-man act consisting of Wrest (Jef Whitehead) who handles all vocals and instruments. Wrest is a highly prolific artist on the US black metal scene (Lurker of Chalice and Twilight are a couple of his other projects) but also a rather mysterious character who rarely gives interviews and when he does, they are often rather cryptic and not too informative. I read one of his rare interviews a while back though and there he hinted at the possibility that "True Traitor, True Whore" was written based on his feelings after he was charged with criminal sexual assault and aggravated domestic battery in January 2011. A very serious case involving Whitehead and his then girlfriend.

...and judged by songtitles (and the album title) like "Her Circle is the Noose", "Every Orifice Yawning Her Price" and "Harlots Rises (Mesmerized Again)" there might actually be something about it. The music is quite dark and filthy too with a hateful edge to it. Picture a combination of the chaotic/dissonant and semi-progressive black metal of Deathspell Omega/Blut aus Nord and the epic/ambient/industrial horror soundscapes of Gnaw Their Tongues and Leviathan is somewhere in the vicinity of how that combination would sound. Bearing that in mind it´s no surprise that "True Traitor, True Whore" is not an easily penetrable album and for most it´ll probably require a lot of spins to fully grasp. Some releases simply aren´t worth spending that much time on but that´s certainly not the case with "True Traitor, True Whore" which is quite the dark, filthy and intriguing ride. Upon repeated listens it´s also revealed that "True Traitor, True Whore" is quite a varied album, with both intense and chaotic blasting sections, ambient epic/cinematic atmospheres and filthy almost industrialized noisy sections too. The raw and raspy vocals are for the most part completely unintelligible, low in the mix and heavily distorted. While that works well most of the time, I would have appreciated a more varied vocal arsenal.

After my initial listen to "True Traitor, True Whore", I was left a bit confused but definitely wanting more. It´s an ambivalent feeling of frustration and sweet expectation that you´ve found something that´s actually worth exploring a bit further but have a hard time penetrating. Upon repeated listens tracks like "Every Orifice Yawning Her Price" with it´s goth rocking drum beats and the multi-layered and actually quite brilliant "Harlots Rises (Mesmerized Again)" begin to stand out and upon conclusion "True Traitor, True Whore" is quite the impressive release by Leviathan. A 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.
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