Leviathan is an American

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

solo project that started in 1998 by Jef Whitehead under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Wrest. On all Leviathan albums, Wrest records all instruments and performs vocals on his own. Despite having early problems with the release of the fourth album ''

Massive Conspiracy Against All Life ''Massive Conspiracy Against All Life'' is the fourth full-length album by San Francisco-based one-man black metal band Leviathan. There was much controversy over the release of this album, which was originally slated for a summer release in 200 ...

'', it was released March 24, 2008 in Europe and on March 25, 2008 in North America. Additionally, Wrest has collaborated with the band

Sunn O))) Sunn O))) (pronounced "sun") is an American experimental metal band formed in 1998 in Seattle, Washington. The band is known for their distinctive visual style and slow, heavy sound, which blends diverse genres including doom metal, drone, bla ...

, and he was an active member of the U.S. black metal supergroup

Twilight Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this il ...

from its formation until it disbanded in 2014. He has stated in interviews that he has been playing drums longer than any other instrument and that the drums are his instrument of choice. Wrest also played and recorded all instruments as well as vocals in his other project, Lurker of Chalice, which had two demos and one full-length album in 2005 released before it was dissolved. Whitehead also writes all the lyrics for Leviathan but has noted, "I don't consider myself a poet, by any means." Whitehead briefly ended Leviathan after the release of ''Massive Conspiracy Against All Life'' in 2008, allegedly due to a legal struggle between himself and Moribund Records. Due to these issues, Wrest felt as though the project had no future. Whitehead was arrested on January 9, 2011 on charges of sexual assault and domestic violence. Wrest has confirmed in an interview that the events surrounding his arrest and the accuser have inspired the music and theme of ''True Traitor, True Whore'', which was released through Profound Lore Records after Wrest signed with them in August 2011; he concurrently announced that he had revived Leviathan. Faced with six charges stemming from the incident, Wrest maintained his innocence and took the case to trial. In May 2012, Wrest was found not guilty of all charges except for one count of aggravated domestic battery. Leviathan's latest album, ''Scar Sighted'' was released on 3rd March 2015 through Profound Lore Records. In 2018, Whitehead revealed that he was working on an eighth Leviathan record titled ''Die to This''.

Discography

Studio albums

* 2003 - '' The Tenth Sub Level of Suicide'' * 2004 - '' Tentacles of Whorror'' * 2005 - '' A Silhouette in Splinters'' * 2008 - ''

'' * 2011 - ''

True Traitor, True Whore ''True Traitor, True Whore'' is a full-length album by San Francisco-based one-man black metal band Leviathan. Jef Whitehead, aka Wrest, was arrested on January 9, 2011, on charges of sexual assault and domestic violence. Wrest has confirmed i ...

'' * 2015 - ''

Scar Sighted ''Scar Sighted'' is the sixth full-length album by San Francisco-based one-man black metal band Leviathan. The album was released on March 3, 2015, through Profound Lore Records. The vinyl edition will be released through Jef Whitehead's own labe ...

'' * TBD - ''Die to This''

EP's and Split releases

* 2003 - ''Live In Eternal Sin / The Speed of Darkness'' (split with Iuvenes) * 2004 - '' Leviathan & Crebain'' (split with Crebain) * 2004 - ''Black Metal Against the World'' (split with Ad Hominem, Funeral Winds and Eternity) * 2004 - '' Leviathan & Xasthur'' (split with

Xasthur Xasthur () is the project of American musician Scott "Malefic" Conner. Conner formed Xasthur in 1995 and released eight studio albums of black metal by 2010, when he announced the end of the project. However, he began using the name once again i ...

) * 2005 - ''Portrait in Scars'' (split with Blackdeath) * 2006 - ''Leviathan & Sapthuran'' (split with Sapthuran) * 2006 - ''The Speed of Darkness'' (EP) * 2006 - ''

The Blind Wound ''The Blind Wound'' is an EP re-release of Leviathan's contribution to 2006's Leviathan / Sapthuran split album. It was re-pressed on LP by Southern Lord Records and was limited to five hundred copies on black vinyl and five hundred copies o ...

'' (EP) * 2009 - ''Sic Luceat Lux'' (split with Acherontas) * 2014 - ''Leviathan / Krieg'' (split with Krieg) * 2018 - ''In the Valley of Death, Where Black Metal Is King'' (split with

Nachtmystium Nachtmystium was an American psychedelic black metal band formed by Blake Judd, formerly known as Azentrius, and Pat McCormick. The band's name is derived from the German word '' Nacht'' meaning "night", and the made-up term ''mystium'' which re ...

, digital release) * 2018 - ''Crawl / Leviathan'' (split with Crawl)

Demos

* 2000 - ''Leviathan'' * 2000 - ''Time End'' * 2000 - ''Three'' * 2000 - ''MisanthropicNecroBlasphemy'' * 2000 - ''Black of Cult'' * 2000 - ''Shadow of No Light'' * 2001 - ''Seven'' * 2001 - ''Eight'' * 2001 - ''Nine (Inclement Derision)'' * 2001 - ''Ten'' * 2001 - ''Eleven'' * 2002 - ''Howl Mockery at the Cross'' * 2002 - ''White Devil, Black Metal'' * 2002 - ''The Tenth Sub Level of Suicide'' * 2002 - ''Fifteen''

Compilation albums

* 2001 - ''Intolerance'' * 2001 - ''Sacrifice Love at the Altar of War'' * 2002 - ''

Verräter ''Verräter'' is a compilation of demos spanning the early days of the American Black Metal band Leviathan. It features two discs of material from previously self-recorded and self-released material by Wrest (Jef Whitehead). After its initial rel ...

'' (2 CDs) * 2005 - ''

Demos Two Thousand ''Demos Two Thousand'' is a 2005 compilation of songs from two of Leviathan's earlier demos - ''Shadows of No Light'' and ''Misanthropicnecroblasphemy'', both of which were recorded in 2000. The album was released a limited batch of 500 cassette ...

'' * 2005 - ''Howl Mockery at the Cross'' * 2016 - ''Leviathan'' (5 CD boxed set) * 2017 - ''The First Sublevel Of Suicide'' * 2018 - ''Unfailing Fall Into Naught'' * 2021 - ''Portrait in Scars / The Speed of Darkness'' * 2022 - ''Shadow of No Light''

Other appearances

* 2005 - "Hissing and Sullen" on ''Destroyers From The Western Skies: As Night Devours The Sun'' * 2007 - "My War" on ''Within the Church of Thee Overlords'' * 2015 - "My War" Flexi-disc single

Lineup

* Wrest (Jef Whitehead) – all instruments, vocals (

, Lurker of Chalice, Nachtmystium, GiftHorse, Steeltoes, GASM)

References

External links

Original label website

Official label website

Interview with Wrest

One Man Metal, Vice documentary in three parts, featuring Wrest
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leviathan Black metal musical groups from California Musical groups established in 1998 One-man bands Tumult Records artists Musical groups from San Francisco