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ALBUM REVIEW
- Ahab - The Divinity of Oceans
- Napalm Records
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- Germany’s greatest purveyors of
"funeral nautic doom metal" are back once more, with a dazzling second
full-length in the form of "The Divinity of Oceans". Ahab were a
surprising discovery for most after 2006 debut "The Call of the Wretched Sea";
immensely heavy, their wretchedly sad doom approach was made much more complex and
interesting by their gently relied-upon nautical concept. This time they have delved into
the background of Melville’s work, rather than directly alluding to ‘Moby
Dick’ again, resulting in a voyage that at once tells a story and allows the listener
to drift off through fatally cold waters.
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- With the theme and inspiration in
mind, it’s easy to imagine Ahab’s doom metal as recreating the rhythms of the
ocean. Where we are usually reminded of slabs, monuments and mountains, with rather rocky
analogies springing to the finger-tips, "The Divinity of Oceans" paints
funeral doom with the immense weight of fathoms, the growling, chugging chords that are
the mainstay of its structures swelling and cresting like waves. The heaviness and
oppressiveness of the slow chords is woven over by the creative, expressive lead guitars
that make this album such a joy – on the title track, for example, they are firstly
creepy, then break into something warmer, before climaxing into a beautiful, mind-calming
solo.
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- While these heavy elements that have
been with Ahab since their origins remain, this album shows more confidence with graceful,
becalmed sections than its predecessor, making it the more sophisticated and varied
release. Vocalist Daniel still lets rip with one of the deepest, gruffest vocals in metal,
but there are now clean sections, almost painfully beautiful for the contrast, as on
opener "Yet Another Raft of the Medusa", and "Nickerson’s
Theme". Clean guitar breaks and bass sections swirl, with some of the airy
poignancy of early Anathema. Indeed, for all the ponderous weight, percussive blasts,
raging guitars and harsh vocals, there is surprising warmth on the album, moments of
surprising gentleness and beauty, like the sun catching the tips of the waves after a
night of battling against storms.
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- Ahab are unsung masters of the doom
genre, easily filling twelve minute tracks with their subtle, deep, sophisticated
structures, seeming effortlessly in control of guiding such a huge and unwieldy vessel
through seven coherent compositions. "The Divinity of Oceans" is
heart-rendingly sad, but beautiful at the same time, never exactly soft but allowing for
quiet yet intense reflection amidst multiple tempests. It’s an incredible journey,
not to be missed by any of the scene’s more melancholic souls.
- 88/100
- Ellen Simpson
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- www.myspace.com/ahabdoom
- www.ahab-doom.de
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