LEVIATHAN is a progressive/melodic death metal quintet from the powerhouse Germany. The band was originally formed in 2007, and had two successful releases early on. However, in 2011, a huge financial decline shook the band out of the scene forcing them to take a "short rest" and eventually have a very uncertain future. But in 2016, the band finally got together again and started recording new stuff. "Of Origins Unearthed" is the final result of their much celebrated reunion. The album is primarily labeled as progressive melodic death metal. These particular elements are evident and dominant right in the opening track "Beyond the Stars". However, there are lots problem. It starts with the lack of the presence of rhythm guitars. It's not to say that there is no rhythm guitar used at all, it's only that the lead guitars and drums nearly erased the sound of the rhythms which is an essential ingredient to any melodic metal songs. Also, the overall sound is so confusing - do they want to play melodic death metal or progressive rock?

The instrumentation doesn't seem to reconcile with the vocals, and that pattern is all over in almost every song and especially in the fourth track "Keep Going" whose guitars are in a moderately high pitched scale, has aggressive drums, occasional clean singing and a death growled main vocals. What's the result of that combo? - Confusion. Acoustic instrumental "The Eye of the Storm" follows shortly, and somehow stops the confusion for a while. The elegant delivery of the acoustic guitars will remind you a lot of DEATH's "Voice of the Soul", but in a "gone mild" edition - showing some influences from OPETH's album "Damnation". Another DEATH reference is present in the following track "Lake of Blood", listen to the intro and main riff and you will easily notice that spinoff of Death's version of "Painkiller". This one is a killer track though, and is undeniably way better than the songs it followed. The riffs are explosive, the rhythm guitar now has more emphasis, and everything is clearly going in a fixed direction unlike the first songs.

Another instrumental is "Come Forth, Leviathan!". Here, the band relentlessly unleashed their prowess in every instrument they play. Surprisingly, they reserved their best riffs for this transition instrumental track. It is very strange for me to choose an instrumental as my favorite track in an album, but in here, this track is surely my favorite. It has a very well balanced mood, combining sharp electric guitar solos with the folk-ish appeal of the acoustic instruments. The concluding track "What Ever" is the most aggressive song this album has to offer. Its thundering riffs and rich solos very well blended with the gallops of the drums. However, the problem of nearly erasing the rhythm guitars is still there. I don't really know why they gave more emphasis to the lead guitars every time instead of the rhythms. It would have given the song an even stronger vibe.