Leviathan (Mastodon album)

Leviathan is the second album by American heavy metal band Mastodon, released in 2004 on Relapse Records. It is Mastodon's first concept album, loosely based on the 1851 novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. The songs "Iron Tusk," "Naked Burn," and "Blood and Thunder" were released as promotional singles, and music videos were created for "Iron Tusk," "Blood and Thunder," and "Seabeast". Three magazines awarded the album Album of the Year in 2004: Revolver, Kerrang! and Terrorizer. In 2009 and 2015 MetalSucks named Leviathan the best metal album of the 21st century.

Leviathan was also released with an audio DVD in a limited edition set with a black and gold slipcase. The album brought Mastodon widespread critical acclaim and, together with the ensuing tour, greatly extended their fan base. It sold 106,000 copies by September 2006. Guitarist Bill Kelliher considers this album a representation of the water element, in keeping with the elemental tetralogy of the band's first four albums.

Videography
The "Tour Edition" CD was released in 2005 which in addition to the main album contained the videos for "Iron Tusk" and "Blood and Thunder". The Tour Edition is presented in a slipcase which shows the complete cover artwork, rather than the detail of the whale shown on the standard edition. This is also the cover for the vinyl edition. A video for "Seabeast" was completed in 2006.

Packaging
Cover art and booklet artwork was done by Paul Romano. The white tower seen in the artwork on the inside cover of the booklet is a revamped version of Martin Heemskerck's 16th-century interpretation of the Pharos of Alexandria. The wave seen in the full picture of the artwork is a reflection of Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa.

Reception
Placing Mastodon "among the elite of bands" on the strength of Leviathan, Avi Pitchon wrote in Terrorizer that the album "rampages through in a shining epic flow, the 'crazy' parts never separate from the classic metal parts". Online music magazine Pitchfork Media placed Leviathan at number 126 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s. In 2009, MetalSucks compiled a list of the "21 Best Metal Albums of the 21st Century So Far" based on the opinions of various musicians, managers, publicists, label representatives and writers, on which Leviathan was placed at number one. The album was honored with a 2004 Metal Storm Award for Best Alternative Metal Album. In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked Leviathan 46th on their list of "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time". German magazine Rock Hard ranked Leviathan ninth on the list of the 15 most important progressive metal albums.

Track listing
On the vinyl editions, "I Am Ahab" and "Ísland" are moved to tracks 7 and 8, respectively.

In popular culture
"Blood and Thunder" was featured on the soundtracks for Alone in the Dark, The Cave, Metal Lords, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Saints Row, Rocksmith 2014, Project Gotham Racing 3, Splatterhouse and Guitar Hero Metallica, in addition to featuring on the film The Big Short. The song was available as downloadable content for Rock Band and features an optional Pro Guitar upgrade for Rock Band 3.

"Megalodon" was featured as downloadable content for Rock Band and was released through the Rock Band Network.

"Iron Tusk" was featured in the soundtrack for Tony Hawk's American Wasteland and NHL 2K9.

The song "Ísland" was briefly featured in a scene in Monsters University.

Band

 * Troy Sanders – bass, vocals
 * Brent Hinds – lead guitar, vocals
 * Bill Kelliher – rhythm guitar
 * Brann Dailor – drums

Guest musicians

 * Scott Kelly (Neurosis) – additional lyrics and vocals on "Aqua Dementia"
 * Neil Fallon (Clutch) – additional vocals on "Blood and Thunder"
 * Matt Bayles – organs on "Joseph Merrick"
 * Phil Peterson – cello on "Aqua Dementia"

Other credits

 * Matthew F. Jacobson – executive producer
 * Alan Douches – mastering
 * Paul A. Romano – artwork, design