Megaton Leviathan : "Mage"

Things have changed. When I heard the first track off this album, I thought "Oh My God , they have turned into Jesu" . I am fine with this as I miss Jesu and the last album I heard by them they did not sound like the same band that made "Sliver" . In other words there is more of a dreamy  shoe gaze haze over this album and it barely touches upon metal at least on the opening track. "Take the Fire" opens with electronic drugs and a narcotic atmosphere. Vocal ease in around this to add to the trance like ambiance. This feels more like some kinda of space age shoe gaze more than it does doom. Not that I am married to doom, this band can feel free to grow in any way they deem fit.

The title track is heavier. Calling it metal might be presumptuous. It has more of a Led Zeppelin throb, if we are talking "No Quarter" or "When the Levee" breaks, though the drums don't boom in the same way as the latter. The vocal layer works for this song in a way that doesn't make it fee like it's idly droning on. Then things begin to really get weird on the synth driven "Belldog". It is almost like kraut Rock at first until the drums find their way in then it carries more of an "Obscured By Clouds" Pink Floyd kind of feel.

The first six minutes of the 15 minute "Within the Threshold" that ends the album is electronic synth wave kraut rock. It does made for some compelling soundtrack music, but is this doom even when the guitar kicks in ? Not likely. This album feels more like prog rock. Nothing is wrong with that. In the final two minutes of this massive instrumental it begins to ebb down to a gentle melody. This is well layered and produced. All the sounds in place are great, it is a jarring change from what fans of this band might be expecting. I'll give this album an 8.5, it's certainly fine for what it is and they certainly get props for going on this surreal adventure.

Megaton Leviathan : "Past 21 Beyond the Arctic Cell"

The eerie 13 minute opener sails by on cold waters. Chilling chant like vocals echo out from the depths of the song. This doom but it comes across heavier in an emotional sense than a metallic one. Where most doom is very oppressive, with the low end weighing the song down, these guys are very spacious. I ma not sure if this is psychedelic, though cerebral. The grandiose strings that come in toward the end are more like something from King Crimson's "In the Wake of Poseidon album, some by more progressive, though it would even be difficult to define it as that since the song doesn't really have any changes just lumbering off the same tearful riff.

On "the Foolish Man " I am reminded of the new Earth album, but these guys have a higher success rate than Earth, they allow the drone to hypnotize with out limiting themselves to a numbing repetition.Exotic scales trickle off the plodding. This is done with a tad more sluggishness on "Arctic Cell" that pounds into things a little more like you would expect from a doom band. The vocals on "the Foolish Man" have a drugged mumble to them. Hey, it worked for Iron Butterfly, "Inna Gadda Divida" was supposed to be ..."in the garden of Eden, but they were too fucked up, so it comes with the territory. The gloom that coats this album does begin to grow on me more with each listen and I think the cool wandering passages of guitar that coast by in the back ground attribute to this.Arctic Cell progresses there are some very cleverly written punches and chugs scattered about the vast wasteland of a song. The staccato chug at the eight minute mark, helped bring the metal back.Building until the siren like female vocals bring in the dreamy tide around the crescendo.

It's hard to tell if the cover of Judas Priest's "Here Comes the Tears " is just plain terrible and they are out of their depth on this one or if they are going for a more death-rock take on this. The reason for this is that they do have a creepy under current running under their music and if some one like Atriarch did this I would approve.The almost goth like baritone vocals gurgle up on"Arctic Cell" , so it could go either way. Whatever the case the vocals are lacking, but I'm going to pretend they are going for more of a Pinkish Black thing here than become repulsed, they get points for being dark and busting out a decent solo.    

This album continues to grow on me so I will round it up to a 9, though this album is like creeper weed, so over time some of the elements I'm not as sure of I will warm up to.  It's fair to guess if you like atmospheric doom, that indulges in the psychedelic ambiance to the point it almost smokes the metal out of it, then you will be similarly impressed.