Thursday, April 30, 2009

AHAB - THE CALL OF THE WRETCHED SEA (2006)


You know what? FUCK Mastodon's Leviathan.
As far as Moby Dick-themed concept albums go, it's all about fuckin' AHAB! These self-proclaimed purveyors of "Nautik Funeral Doom" produce a sound so much BIGGER than Mastodon, so much DEEPER, it's almost as if the band itself is composed of a bunch of whales.
But maybe it's unfair to compare these two groups. Ahab is definitely tuned into their own weird, oceanic trip, miles (or knots?) from anything anyone else is doing. It's actually really refreshing to hear something so slow and plodding be simultaneously so dynamic. It's difficult to wrap one's mind around, for sure, but oddly rewarding as well.
The whole "funeral doom" thing is a double-edged sword for me. Most bands in the genre are just slow for the sake of slow, but these German freaks have an almost-indescribable something else going on. Ahab is just fuckin' HEAVY, for lack of a better term. Their sound is the sound of distant thunder cracking over dark, swirling seas, the sound of ancient evil stirring at the bottom of the deepest oceanic trench. Ahab is DOOM incarnate.

I heard they put out a new album in '09. Anyone heard it?

Download HERE


Above: I'll even let these fuckers get away with wearing pea coats in their band photo. They're that good.

3 comments:

Jim Colvill said...

rry i haven't been by in ages just getting settled into life in the big city mate. have the net soon with any luck.

Shelby Cobras said...

we missed you man. welcome back.

huggy said...

downloaded this last night. and been listening to this since. this band heavy as a ton of bricks, like you said but its not like you said slow for the sake of being slow, most of the parts so catchy which is a good thing because the songs are long. thanks for the upload.
this band needs to listened to on headphones. i think.
thanks for the post
take care