LEVIATHAN CYCLE
‘The Suffering Prolonged’ EP
Independent

I’ve been fortunate, in this world, to not only review some of the biggest bands on the planet but many of them shaped the music I grew up ‘blasting through my speakers’. The moments that stick with you are often the early ones. Times when you catch bands before the machine shows up, before the tours get bigger and the names start appearing higher on festival posters. That’s when you really see the bones of what a band is trying to build.

Out of Dayton comes LEVIATHAN CYCLE, an independent melodic death metal band that feels less like a new act and more like something dragged out from the darker corners of the underground. Formed in 2019, the band pulls influence from a wide range of heavy hitters; LAMB OF GOD, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, and BEHEMOTH, with the darker legacy of BLACK SABBATH, and a backbone rooted in old-school thrash. The current lineup behind the noise features Derek Lochner (vocals/guitar), Tyler Allen (vocals/guitar, now handling bass duties), and Steffen Dalton (drums); a trio that clearly understands the darker groove-driven corners of extreme metal.

Derek reached out to me directly after seeing one of my reviews posted online. No PR firm. No label rep. Just a link to their video for “The Burnt Page,” and a message asking if I’d be willing to check out their four-song EP. So…I hit play not really knowing what to expect, but within a few minutes it was clear they were sitting in a lane I gravitate toward; groove-driven melodic death metal with a strong respect for the foundations of the genre.

This EP also represents a turning point for the band. These four tracks mark the final songs written with their original bassist before his departure. Additionally, they were also the last recordings completed with producer Jake Nolan of THE PARAMEDIC. Everything moving forward will see the band working with Christian Becker of OV SULFUR and IN DYING ARMS, with new material already recorded and a full-length album being planned.

And if this EP is the closing chapter of that era, it leaves a strong impression!

“Agony of Flesh” opens the EP with a slow, gloomy crawl that immediately feels rooted in the spirit of 90s death metal. The intro lingers just long enough to pull you into that atmosphere before the snare cracks and the whole thing ignites into a groove-driven assault. Steffen’s drumming drives this track forward in a big way; the double-bass rhythm is what hooked me first. I found myself mimicking the footwork as the song rolled forward. The only thing that slightly held the track back, for me, was the vocal placement in the mix. Derek and Tyler deliver solid performances with tones fitting the darkness perfectly, but the vocals feel just a touch behind the wall of instrumentation.

“Skinwalker,” wastes no time getting to the point. The guitars come in sharp and immediate! Whether you favor more toward death metal or thrash, there’s something in that opening riff that grabs you. This is the kind of song that gets the pit moving. Structurally it’s straightforward, but that works in its favor. Derek and Tyler build a chantable section into the song that feels like it was written with a live crowd in mind. The guitar solo leans heavily into thrash territory, aggressive and cutting without losing control, all while giving the track a burst of energy that pushes it even further.

“Bringer of Madness,” was the song I expected to be my personal favorite just based on the title alone. The first minute and a half nearly proves that instinct is right. The song opens with a crushing, old-school death metal feel that carries serious weight. But as the track moves into the second half, it loses a bit of that initial momentum. There’s a machine-gun snare and guitar section that works well! However, when the tempo drops dramatically, for the “be set free” moment, I lost some of that headbanging rhythm the first half had built-up. It’s not a weak track by any stretch, but it feels like one where slightly tighter production or arrangement choices could have elevated it even further.

Then comes “Mouth of the Serpent,” which brings everything back to the band’s strengths. The melodic groove returns immediately. Derek and Tyler’s guitar work feels sharp and confident, and the solos stand out as some of the strongest moments on the EP. Steffen deserves serious credit here as well, with the double-bass triggers sitting perfectly in the mix without overwhelming the song! The breakdown near the end is the moment that pushes this track from solid to standout. When the band drops into that section and then picks the momentum back up, right after, it lands exactly the way you want it to.

Across the EP there’s a constant sense of decay, madness, and darker themes running through the material. Flesh, bone, fear, and corruption skillfully weave their way through the atmosphere of these songs. It feels macabre without becoming theatrical. Nothing here feels forced or overly dramatic, it just sits comfortably in that darker space where death metal has always thrived.

My biggest critique across the EP remains the same: the vocal mix. I could understand every lyric clearly, and Derek and Tyler’s delivery fits the style; but the vocals feel slightly recessed compared to the rest of the instrumentation. Everything else feels like it’s operating at full force while the vocals sit just a bit behind the punch of the music. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it’s noticeable.

That said, I genuinely enjoyed this EP. Three of the four tracks had me fully hooked, and the fourth still showed plenty of potential. LEVIATHAN CYCLE would make a strong opening act for bands like ANGELMAKER, GATECREEPER, NEKROGOBLIKON, or OV SULFUR. They sit in that space where groove-driven death metal and modern deathcore aggression overlap.

I remember seeing BLACKBRAID open early on and thinking, who are these guys? That band went on to become one of my favorite newer acts in black metal. LEVIATHAN CYCLE gives me that same early-stage feeling. If they land the right tour run, supporting some established bands in the death metal or deathcore world, they could grow quickly.
There’s something forming here in the dark.

And for an independent band grinding it out without a label machine behind them, that matters.

4.0 Out Of 5.0 Battlejackets