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Reviews
Ahab: The divinity of oceans
07/12/09 || Global Domination
Having given Ahab’s “The Call of the Wretched Sea” top marks and recognizing it as one of the best records the genre of funeral doom has to offer, I could be forgiven for thinking there is a chance these German doom-mongers could have a hard time living up to it. A curse indeed, that one of the sophomore album, and it’s no surprise that many bands seem to be affected by it after releasing debut albums that excel above expectations. So here I am, faced with “The Divinity of Oceans” to analyze, and after a few listening sessions, I must say that it doesn’t quite reach the abysmal oceanic depths its predecessor did, but it comes awfully close, dragging down all those fucken sophomore myths to a suffocating death of lungs filled with the darkest water.
Admirably enough, Ahab once again has decided to embark on a voyage through the tricky seas of concept-based albums. Their songwriting narrative revolves this time around the true story of the whale-hunter “Essex”, which was rammed and sunk by a huge sperm whale in 1820. The harrowing details of what the survivors went through can be read here, and it’s quite fucken ugly to say the least. Cannibalism is only amusing when Cannibal Corpse and their peers in lyrical depravity rant about it, did you know? I like horror and gore lyrics as much as the next guy, but what we have here is different; this is a true horror story, one of those you wish was actually fiction.
Does the music that Ahab has constructed around these events adequately capture the grim connotations of such harrowing events? It certainly fucken does! The songs tend to be a bit more atmospheric and versatile this time around, with more emphasis being made on developing sinister melodies to gradually flesh out the songs, building them up for the moments of epic primal doom to be more significant once they peak through the elegant evolution of these tunes. The riffs of Hector and Droste are as heavy and ponderously crushing as a behemoth of the ocean’s depths, and the haunting leads they indulge on are utterly gloomy and obscure. The keyboards are quite subtle and do just enough to complement the melodies here and there, the way it should be. The vocal work of Daniel Droste has improved, adding some mournful clean mutterings and choruses to his Gregorian-like chants and inhuman growls. The rhythm section of Wandernoth and Althammer is simply monstrous, as they add layers upon layers of heaviness to the songs with their classy performances.
I’m not going to analyze each song in detailed fashion; each one of these tunes oozes quality and stands alone quite well by itself while of course fitting the flow of the story and concept brilliantly. Despite the usual length of these compositions, Ahab always manages to keep me hooked with their intelligent twists and turns, flawlessly alternating between dreary melodic wanderings and brutal passages. My early favorites are the opener and the title track, both incredibly close to achieving funeral doom perfection, while “Gnawing Bones (Coffin’s Lot)” and “Nickerson’s Theme” are also absolutely outstanding.
The more I listen to this record, the harder I’m pressed to find any problem with it whatsoever. The only reason I’d venture in order to uphold its predecessor above it for now might be that “The Call of the Wretched Sea” was certainly more aggressive overall, which might make for a more rewarding listen for some. In my case, it makes for a less immediate experience; let’s call it for argument’s sake a less guttural expression of the power that can be conjured by such an amazing band as Ahab in this genre. Nevertheless, “The Divinity of Oceans” is by all means a recommended listen, an excellent album by a band that is at the top of the game already just a couple of records into their career.
- Information
- Released: 2009
- Label: Napalm Records
- Website: www.ahab-doom.de
- Band
- Daniel Droste: vocals, guitars, keyboards
- Christian Hector: guitars
- Stephan Wandernoth: bass
- Cornelius Althammer: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Yet Another Raft of the Medusa (Pollard’s Weakness)
- 02. The Divinity of Oceans
- 03. O Father Sea
- 04. Redemption Lost
- 05. Tombstone Carousal
- 06. Gnawing Bones (Coffin’s Lot)
- 07. Nickerson’s Theme