As the gray matter behind Leviathan's pitch exhibitions, Wrest has proven adequate in performing through a variety of styles, but not always in generating those forms and ideas into a full ensemble. In fact, I don't think that's ever been tried before. Leviathan is schizophrenic, saccadic in imagery, complexly layered, but also incredibly simple and prone to executing such heavy handed juxtapositions that all value becomes lost. What's kept Leviathan interesting is the nexus of ambience guided toward a malign conclusion, incorporating the atmosphere of one paradigm into another -- and all the other shit just the free-floating impulse of an artist unable to relinquish that certain riff because of its potential... somewhere. In a way, everything Leviathan has existed as so far is a demo. Which makes this LP that much more significant as well as pleasantly confusing.

Recorded between 2000 and 2002, this set of six ambient tracks shows a more concentrated side of Leviathan, proving that Wrest is indeed capable of the most haunting nuance over extended audio trips. However, the liner notes are non-specific as to whether these tracks were culled from elsewhere or composed at intervals over time. I would be amazed were the latter not true. There is less incertitude here from the writer's standpoint, and it opens up a third eye towards fearful sensations. It's like Pavor Nocturnus set to music.

Fantods of sound skirt across the mouth of a sleeping behemoth, that great dragon hum of electronic cinder burning waves of parenthetical oscillating feedback; mutated broadcasts of static shaped into icy daggers darting in and out of the dark lull that canvases this work and possibly your own perception of it; how much the mind becomes a wax record. Guitar notes uncurl like drops of ink hitting water and witchy bass rhythms shadow their crawling tempo. Owing some of these traits to early Lustmord, Wrest is nevertheless touching on something more distinct with these six chambers of radial apport, and obviously limiting himself in one way (it's interesting that he is also a competent and deviceful drummer), gives voice to a more complete dimension. One that's able to totalize the whole concept of the band within illusory reduction and baleful symphony.

(_A_Silhouette in Splinters_ was released only on vinyl, limited to 500 copies and now out of print. Happy hunting.)