Leviathan – True Traitor, True Whore

• Country: United States
• Style: Black metal
• Label: Profound Lore Records
• Release date: 8 November 2011

Few black metal records of 2011 sound this personal. Jef Whitehead, the sole member of Leviathan under the name Wrest, made True Traitor, True Whore in a turbulent year for him, and the album wears that turmoil openly. Betrayal and bitterness run through every title, and nothing here is softened for comfort.

Musically it is a sour, claustrophobic thing. Guitars bend and smear rather than ring, the vocals sink into effects and resurface as howls, and the ambient stretches feel less like rest stops than like holding your breath in a dark room. “True Whorror” opens with venom, “Her Circle Is The Noose” tightens the grip, and “Harlot Rises (Mesmerized Again)” lets the poison spread slowly.

It is not Whitehead’s most focused work, and the single-minded mood makes several tracks run together. But the anger sounds real rather than staged. Whether that much bile makes for repeat listening is your call, not the record’s.

Best tracks:

True Whorror
Her Circle Is The Noose
Harlot Rises (Mesmerized Again)

Author’s rating: 7.0/10