A triumphant return by Written in Torment
Returning 7 years after 2006′s ‘The Uncreation’ sole member Leviathan strategically executes The War of All Against All, an unrelenting battery of inhuman scourge and malicious abhorrence.
Erupting in cataclysmic force this venomous black metal assault lays waste to the weak, and ferociously carves it’s own fate. With influence from legend, Emperor, Dissection & Abyssos.
Written in Torment rises as a Phoenix, not from flame and ash, but nuclear fire and ruin; a new era of famine and death.
Time has honoured this evil.
Hope is bereft…
Black metal is the only genre where a one man project is truly acceptable, exceptions are around, such as Nine Inch Nails etc, but in black metal it really works, there are many examples, such as Burzum, Bathory, Leviathan, Xasthur etc. An addition to these esteemed ranks can now be found in Written In Torment, the one man band of sole member Leviathan hailing from Harrogate, England. Whilst not the cold Kvlt landscape one would expect of a black metal project, it has managed to produce here a powerful and brilliant sound that can be heard on debut album Bellum Omnium Contra Omnes, translating to 'The War of All Against All'.
Sole member Leviathan plays all the instruments on this album, and is clearly adept at all of them, the drums are powerful and technical, ranging from brutal blast beats and double bass to complex rhythms with ease, the guitars are just as diverse, ranging from standard black metal tremolo riffs to almost thrashy sounds to then turn to complex solos within a song. Each track on this album evolves, not staying on the same riff and sound as can be found in some songs by Burzum and other solo projects, but numerous riffs, tempo changes and sounds arise within each song, so no one sound stays too long, so nothing becomes boring, Leviathan has composed music that is capable of switching between majestic and powerful heights such as on Grief and Eternities Of Suffering Endured to dark crunching dirty tracks such as Beast From The Depths and Necessary Evil, even producing an instrumental in track Solitude, nothing sounding forced or out of place. Leviathan draws on lots of influences, ranging from traditional black metal bands such as Dissection, Emperor and Mayhem, to thrash metal. The bass unfortunately can get lost in the sound, but when it rears up it produces interesting lines, showing a technical proficiency in this realm too. Vocally, Leviathan produces a roar of a sound, almost stepping into death metal vocal territory, whilst the range is not as wide as other vocalists, the power behind the voice more than makes up for it, you can hear the emotion behind the rasping sound, as he screams about war, Anti-Christianity and other equally dark subjects. The sound fits perfectly with the music, slotting in like the final piece on a beautifully crafted, blood soaked jigsaw puzzle. Lyrically, it won't blow your mind, the album is mainly focussed, as said before on the subject of war, and the lyrics are well put together, not becoming laughable and cringe worthy like other black metal albums may, but not reaching the poetic realms of other lyricists, rather they are in the middle, sitting well with the music.The production on the album is exactly as a black metal album should be, not crystal clear like a pop album, it should retain a dark, murky edge to it, not quite as bad as Darkthrone, but not perfect.
The only negative I could perceive, that didn't bother me, but may be an issue with others, is the length, at 55 minutes and 54 seconds it is a long album, for me this was an easy thing to sit through, because I thoroughly enjoyed every minute, but for others this may be a challenge to hear from start to finish.
So overall, for a debut release, this is brilliant, sitting up there with some of the great solo black metal albums. For an album that has been in the making for seven years it has reached a brilliant conclusion and should be on the agenda of any black metal fan as a must listen.
Written In Torment is a one man solo project hailing from picturesque Harrowgate, Yorkshire and is the brainchild of Leviathan. Bellum Omnium Contra Omnes (Latin for "The war of all against all", which coincidentally is the description that is given in the nature thought experiment "Leviathan") is the first full length release after a very successful EP, and it even features guest session keyboardist Jonny Maulding of Bal-Sagoth fame. It was released via Glorious North Productions on 14th May 2013.
Bellum Omnium Contra Omnes' main theme is based on warfare (as the explanation of the title suggests). It's hard hitting, spiteful and vindictive black metal with a completely unique sound within the UKBM scene. Instead of repetitive riffs and tinny blast beats that's common in a lot of venomous black metal, there's skilled guitar work, melodic keys and an undertone of classic and decent thrash/death metal. The vocals are less "screechy" and have more depth and clarity, but still stays firmly in the "black metal sound". From start to finish no 2 songs sound alike, and even the album as a whole is hard to compare to other artists' work as the sound is rather unique. This album's bedrock is great musicianship which very clearly can be heard throughout each track, from tremolos and hypnotic rhythm guitar to a variant of machine gunfire drums and well choreographed percussion. The bass is very rarely heard in the mix, but every so often it strays from the rhythm guitar to follow a very melodic pattern with the vocals.
The production on this album is fantastic, even though it isn't produced in a fashion that's typical of black metal (I.e gritty DIY sound). It transforms the album further, you can pick apart and properly listen to each track, which is very refreshing to hear. Bellum Omnium Contra Omnes has been in the works for 7 long years, but it's been well worth the wait. I can't really fault the album at all, although I'd recommend the first time listening to it should be in a distraction free environment, so you can really appreciate it from the first instance.
I recently read that the UKBM scene was full of "bands and projects that release substandard music on underground, inaccessible labels and yet somehow still consider themselves to be black metal gods. This assembly of amateur musicians that support themselves and each other in their pathetic musical ventures has caused most black metal fanatics to cease interest in the UK". Not only does Bellum Omnium Contra Omnes completely obliterate this statement but the previous albums I've reviewed and come into contact with do too. Bellum Omnium Contra Omnes shows to rest of the world what the UK is made of.
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