Mastodon "Leviathan (2008 Japanese Reissue)"

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", "Blood and Thunder", "I Am Ahab" and "Seabeast" were released as singles. 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 of DVD-Video format 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.

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.

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.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mastodon.

1. "Blood and Thunder" (featuring Neil Fallon) 3:48
2. "I Am Ahab" 2:45
3. "Seabeast" 4:15
4. "Ísland" 3:26
5. "Iron Tusk" 3:03
6. "Megalodon" 4:22
7. "Naked Burn" 3:42
8. "Aqua Dementia" (featuring Scott Kelly) 4:10
9. "Hearts Alive" 13:39
10. "Joseph Merrick" (instrumental) 3:33

Total length: 46:43

Bonus Tracks:

1. Where Strides the Behemoth 03:18  
2. Battle at Sea 04:12  
3. Thank You for This / We Built This Come Death 04:01  
4. Crusher Destroyer 02:06  

Total time:   01:00:20  

Recording information:

Recorded and mixed at Robert Lang Studios, Studio Litho and Ek Studios (Seattle, WA), March 2004.

Mastered at West West Side Music (Tenafly, NJ), April 2004.