AHAB — The Call of the Wretched Sea (review)

AHAB — The Call of the Wretched Sea album cover Album · 2006 · Funeral Doom Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"The Call of the Wretched Sea" is the debut full-length studio album by German doom/death metal act Ahab. The album was released through Napalm Records in September 2006. Ahab were formed in 2004 and released a demo EP that same year titled "The Oath" (re-released in 2007). The two EP tracks "The Hunt" and "Ahab's Oath", were re-written and re-recorded for "The Call of the Wretched Sea". Ahab have taken their name from the captain of the Pequod, who is the obsessed whaler hunting the great white whale Moby Dick in Herman Melville´s novel from 1851. "The Call of the Wretched Sea" is a concept release telling the story of Moby Dick.

Stylistically the material on the 7 track, 67:32 minutes long album are atmospheric doom/death metal played at a slow pace (usually refered to as funeral doom). It´s dark, it´s crushingly heavy and the abysmal deep and unintelligible growling vocals are brutal and eerie (the band occasionally use other types of vocals, but the growls are the dominant vocal style on the album), but there is a bit more to "The Call of the Wretched Sea" than that. Ahab successfully incorporate atmospheric post-metal traits and soaring lead guitar melodies, which ensure variation and entertainment value throughout the album. It never becomes just repetitive riffs and rhythms, as Ahab always come up with something either surprising or interesting to break any possible monotony. The creative songwriting is one of the great strengths of the album and Ahab deserve praise for their adventurous approach to composing.

"The Call of the Wretched Sea" features a dark, organic, and heavy sound production, which suits the material perfectly. The often multi-layered soundscape works fine and all details are audible, even though the sound production is pretty raw. So upon conclusion "The Call of the Wretched Sea" is a high quality debut album by Ahab. It´s an album which may require a couple of spins to sink in although it´s obvious from the first listen that this is something special, but it´s also an album which is equally rewarding in the long run, as the listener will find new details and atmospheres to investigate with each listen. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.
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