Scar Sighted
Scar Sighted is the sixth full-length album by San Francisco-based one-man black metal band Leviathan. The album was released on March 3, 2015, through Profound Lore Records. The vinyl edition will be released through Jef Whitehead's own label, Devout Records.[1] Three tracks were streamed online prior to the album's official release date. 'All Tongues Toward' was released for streaming on January 15, 'Within Thrall' on February 11, and 'Gardens of Coprolite' on February 23.[2][3][4]
Scar Sighted | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 3, 2015 | |||
Recorded | 2014[1] | |||
Genre | Ambient black metal, avant-garde metal | |||
Length | 64:19 | |||
Label | Profound Lore Records | |||
Producer | Billy Anderson | |||
Leviathan chronology | ||||
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Critical reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
About.com | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Metal Hammer | 8/10[7] |
Pitchfork | 7.4/10[8] |
Ultimate Guitar | 8.3/10[9] |
Scar Sighted has received favourable reviews by critics. Pitchfork's Grayson Currin gave the album 7.4/10, describing the album as "Using uproarious blitzes of black metal only as dynamic peaks or plateaus, Whitehead commandeers the rest of the 64-minute record to create a stylistic phantasmagoria. Death and doom, musique concrète and noise rock, harsh noise and industrial sounds collide, bending into each other to create lurid new shapes." About.com's Matt Hinch wrote that "Scar Sighted finds a balance, a middle ground between nihilism and perseverance", concluding that "Wrest has outdone himself with Scar Sighted and it's easily Leviathan's best work to date.".
Steel for Brains wrote in their review that "The album is a vision of the madness that at this point in Leviathan’s career feels strangely familiar and welcomed. At once vicious and unforgiving, yet engaging those dynamics in tandem with disquieting melody and brief moments of restraint, Scar Sighted is a narrative of compositional abandon, hinging on newly discovered depths of an already dark psyche and adding a brilliantly deadly piece to the already well-established hateful machinery of Leviathan’s sound."[10]
Track listing
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "-" | 2:18 |
2. | "The Smoke of Their Torment" | 6:04 |
3. | "Dawn Vibration" | 6:28 |
4. | "Gardens of Coprolite" | 5:40 |
5. | "Wicked Fields of Calm" | 5:46 |
6. | "Within Thrall" | 5:38 |
7. | "A Veil Is Lifted" | 6:18 |
8. | "Scar Sighted" | 10:03 |
9. | "All Tongues Toward" | 8:24 |
10. | "Aphōnos" | 7:43 |
Personnel
- Jef Whitehead (Wrest) - All instruments and vocals
- Billy Anderson - Production, Engineering, Mixing
References
- "Leviathan Completes Work on New Album". December 19, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
- "Leviathan - All Tongues Toward stream". January 15, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
- Millard, Drew (February 11, 2015). "The Devil and Jef Whitehead". Retrieved March 2, 2015.
- Norton, Justin (February 23, 2015). "Q&A: Leviathan's Jef Whitehead On His Early Years, His Future, & Scar Sighted + "Gardens Of Coprolite" (Stereogum Premiere)". Retrieved March 2, 2015.
- Hinch, Matt. "About.com Leviathan - Scar Sighted Review". Retrieved March 2, 2015.
- Yeung, Neil. "AllMusic Leviathan Scar Sighted review". Retrieved December 10, 2015.
- Patterson, Dayal (February 27, 2015). "Metal Hammer Leviathan Scar Sighted review". Retrieved December 10, 2015.
- Currin, Grayson (February 6, 2015). "Pitchfork Leviathan Scar Sighted review". Retrieved March 2, 2015.
- "Ultimate Guitar Leviathan Scar Sighted review". March 25, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
- Dick, Jonathan (February 10, 2015). "Steel for Brains - Leviathan Scar Sighted review". Retrieved March 2, 2015.