Ahab - The Coral Tombs (2023) Review

Eight years after The Boats of Glenn Carrig, oceanic mammoths Ahab return with an album that finally takes inspiration from one of the first and favourite books I read as a kid: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. All the virtues of the band are as lustrous as ever in The Coral Tombs, which communicates their experience and comfort at top-notch, unique doom metal that is barely limited in strict genres.

It kicks off with the most unusual Ahab introduction that has even been heard, the heavily ominous “Prof. Arronax’ Descent into the Vast Oceans” which features guest vocals by Chris Noir of Ultha. The song quickly finds port in more orderly, slow paced woeful melodies on clean vocals, and there is no more turbulence in the record. Classic gloomy atmosphere set in through the short tracks of The Coral Tombs, as the imposing riffs of “Colossus of the Liquid Graves” and “Mobilis in Mobili” comprise the more distinct, memorable moments of the album. On its latter part is where Ahab takes on prolonged compositions, where more space is created for the full growth of this band’s music and ideas grow as it progresses. 

“The Sea as a Desert” is one of the highlight, but also the closing number “The Mælstrom” (featuring the singer of Esoteric) also stands out for the great guitar lines of its darker side and the less linear drumming of its first half. The self-titled track and “Ægri Somnia”, as the rest of the album, hold close the imprint of the band and their recipe: heavier doses of almost funeral doom metal (not anymore) with melodic, slow paced cleaner passages, deep growls and cleans in all tracks. 

Yet, Ahab’s successful presence stems from other factors too apart from the great music: excellent storytelling and characteristic, personal sound. The Coral Tombs has the distinct highlights: great flow, powerful musicianship, engaging atmosphere,  and amazing addition of guest vocals by Ultha and Esoteric. Ahab was away for too long!

DAMAGE: 4/5

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Skepticism - Companion (2021) Review

Release date: September 24th, 2021

Genre: Funeral Doom Metal

Origin: Finland

Label: Svart Records

Listen: Bandcamp

We got a tiny bit of Eero Pöyry action earlier this year with his keyboard contribution to the introduction and outro of Mork's latest album Katedralen, a great work of modern Norwegian black metal that features some of the band's most well-written material to date. As for me, I enjoyed Katedralen but was more anxiously waiting for the next Skepticism full length, especially after the slight letdown of 2015's Ordeal, where the band didn't manage to keep my attention almost at all. Prior to that, they have massive albums on their backs, each one a big chapter in their story dating back to the early days of establishing this subgenre.

If you want some quick insight to stop reading this text faster, you should already know then that Companion is startling. Its massive atmosphere, through multilayered synths and the beloved church organs, the snail-paced guitar lines -even though, this time Skepticism dare to play a bit faster too- all live up to their names. With instances that reminded me a bit of the Farmakon era, it's packed with epic moments and almost no dull moment, it naturally flows and you won't even know when the 48 minutes of duration have passed when listening to this magical journey. Companion changes mood from time to time, based always on interesting ideas and fine musicianship, so don't expect pointless, endless songs that attempt to mimic funeral doom metal. I really liked some of the directions this record took, and it's after all, made by veterans.

The album openers "Calla" and "The Interwined" are wonderful examples of Skepticism class, and they stand on the slightly more uplifting side of the album. The band picks up some speed here and might catch some listeners off guard (just compare this to the standard speeds of e.g., Alloy), offering an abundance of beautiful melodies and some especially nice piano + drums part in "The Interwined". Slower, church organ driven lines follow in "The March of the Four", where one can find some of the more typical funeral doom elements being clearer. However, Companion takes a wondrous turn from then on, as it shows its angry face with "Passage". Apart from the intimidating introduction, which feels like a more furious, fast paced black metal track might kick in, its used of background synths, along the mellower, more common Skepticism style, provides a heavier, more punishing result that made it possibly my favorite track in the record.

It's pointless to mention how good the keyboards and the church organ is every time it deserves a mention in Companion, but for the people who are familiar with Skepticism, the quality of Eero Pöyry's execution is well known. That's what I enjoyed the most in the dolent "The Inevitable", and the rest of the instrumentation in the ominous introduction of the final track "The Swan and the Raven", as well as how it built up and closed the album in the same manner. Yet, not to totally praise this release, what I did not completely enjoy at several times was the growling of the vocals, as to me it didn't sound as hefty, as deep or as strong as it could have been, which had me thinking that if Companion featured a more monstrous lower vocal work, it would have been among my top funeral doom metal albums. Still, I doubt this will alienate the fans out there, as Skepticism have made another really solid effort.

Ok, this was really nice, now back to Stormcrowfleet again.

Tracklist:

1. Calla
2. The Intertwined
3. The March of the Four
4. Passage 
5. The Inevitable 
6. The Swan and the Raven

Damage: 3.5/5 [Great]

The call of the wretched sea

Artist: Ahab

Genre: Funeral Doom Metal

Origin: Germany

Year: 2006

Label: Napalm Records

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In 2006, Ahab released what is undoubtedly one of the best and most unique funeral doom metal albums ever created. 

The band formed in 2004 and very soon moved on with a single the same year, but it was next year's demo that was the most important and the first installment to the known Nuntacket trilogy, featuring their first three releases, other than the The Stream: The Oath demo, The Call of the Wretched Sea in 2006, and The Divinity of Oceans in 2009.

In these releases, it seems like they had some struggles with recording and producing their music, or to put it more correctly: it is obvious that they moved on to a "professional" studio with The Giant in 2012. Of course, this has never been a problem for metalheads with trained ears in the harshest shit ever.

It turns out, the sound in the early Ahab records is soul crushing to heavenly levels, fitting the concept of the band ideally, as they only elaborate on ocean subjects, books about the sea and such. The Call of the Wretched Sea is also about my personal favorite book of all time, Moby Dick (hence, the name reference too).

Fans of such literature might be interested to check a couple of more books: Owen Chase's The Wreck Of The Whaleship Essex and Nathaniel Philbrick's The Heart Of The Sea, which were both influences for Herman Melville as well.

Ahab moved towards a broader sound later in their discography, bringing jam / rock elements as well, and more clean vocals of course. In my opinion, they have never failed. I don't know if they have become better, because their first recordings are amazing.

I wouldn't say they were ever neck deep into funeral doom, but there isn't another genre closer to the claustrophobic, haunting and unbearable heaviness and atmosphere of The Call of the Wretched Sea. If this band has a funeral doom metal album, that is it. Especially the first two tracks, "Below the Sun" and "The Pacific", had me hooked very quickly, and they haven't lost their initial beauty after a thousand listens until today.

The album's fourth track "Of the Monstrous Pictures of Whales" is a reference to a chapter from Moby Dick, which you can read here.

There are not similar bands to Ahab, but if you are in the mood for their first album The Call of the Wretched Sea, it's safe to say that you should dig more into classic funeral doom metal bands. Mark my words that this is one of the best metal releases of the previous decade and a thrilling experience to listen through.

Track listing:

1. Below the Sun

2. The Pacific

3. Old Thunder

4. Of the Monstrous Pictures of Whales

5. The Sermon

6. The Hunt

7. Ahab's Oath

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Listen on Spotify | Youtube

Ataraxie - L'Être et la Nausée (2013) Review

Ataraxie "L'Être et la Nausée"

Autumn 2013, Weird Truth Productions

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Most of the times, you have to be really patient with funeral doom metal. You also gotta have a trained stomach to appreciate the music, since it’s very unwelcoming towards an unsuspicious listener. It is also dangerous when it comes in touch with mental instability, as the average funeral doom metal band is more serious and damaging than the average i.e. DSBM band. I’m not a die-hard fan of the genre, im very selective and i usually discard most of the stuff i listen to quickly. However, this right here is a really nice album after all.

Ataraxie are French and they have been around since the beginning of the century, counting three full length albums, with this included. They do flirt with doom/death, if they are not completely, and their albums dare to approach the checkpoint of an hour in duration, if not more. As for the band name, ataraxia is a Greek term used by Pyrrho and Epicurus for a lucid state of robust tranquility, characterized by ongoing freedom from distress and worry (go Wiki go). From the cover only, one can be warned and prepared about the content and the music here. Plain black with an edgy logo and a woman screaming, that's definitely music to work your overthinking on. L'Être et la Nausée means something like “Being in Nausea” and it consists of two disks, lasting 38 and 41 minutes each. I knew this band is somewhat popular and i always listen to albums like these, even if i think that i won't like them, but it turned out that i did not waste my time. On the contrary.

The first CD starts with “Procession of the Insane Ones” which is about 20 minutes. There is a clean melody in the beginning and continues with doomy slow riffs, as predictable as that would be, it’s bread and water for the fans of that scene. A nice characteristic that took me by surprise, is that the band is not afraid to increase speed and create fast parts in their songs, as in this one. It alters from clean guitar, to slow distorted and fast parts, as well as a middle paced rhythm in the end, quite heavy, depressing and damn great. The second track “Face The Loss Of Your Sanity” gets to the point from the first second, with a fast paced melody and howling vocals. Throughout its 17 minutes, you can hear many interesting ideas that give such variety to the song that it steps a little further from typical funeral doom, without losing its power whatsoever.  The last piece of the disk is a three minute interlude with sorrowful clean guitar riffs, its slow and relaxing, as if you’re swallowed by a deep black hole and you slowly see the light fade away.

The second CD has two songs, and it welcomes you with a fast, cut-throat, blackmetalish riff. It does not hesitate to drown into slower punishing doom lines again, always executed perfectly. Lasting ten minutes, it could be considered as a bridge between the previous songs and the massive ending track, which clocks about 27 minutes alone. “Nausée” is really long, slow and menacing. The first 20 minutes are the very meaning of funeral doom/death, with some clean parts in between, but mainly with these one-note-a-decade riffs all over it. For a couple of minutes then, it gets some velocity that creates a moment of black metal, before its final, miserable end.

All in all, this is a fine composed album, with a great production, great musicianship and great wretched vocals. If you are a fan of the genre, you should grow into it immediately.

DAMAGE: 8.0/10

Elysian Blaze - Blood Geometry (2012) Review

Elysian Blaze "Blood Geometry"
Summer 2012, Osmose Productions

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When we're talking about really long album, Elysian Blaze's Blood Geometry should come to mind. This funeral doom/depressive black metal one-man project from Australia released this album last year in two CDs/parts, each one of them lasting around an hour. A monotonous drone is needed in albums like these, but if you decide to listen to this particular album as a whole, prepare to sink in the deepest void.

I am convinced that this is their best album to date. There is finally the perfect balance between the instruments and the guitars, in the first albums the guitar work was a bit unlear and cast aside by the synths. This is not the case here though, a previous flaw has been fixed and Elysian Blaze are even closer to excellence. The atmosphere of the whole album is magnificent, through its variety of synths, gloomy melodies and a sorrowful woe of screams. The whole idea is that the music stays slow, thick and depressive, so i would say its for the fans only. Inside the dark vibe of the whole album, i noticed an ounce of epicness at the end of the first CD in the self-titled track, an elegant ray of light between oblivion.

I personally love the way Mutatiis handles the pianos and the synths behind them. The ambience he creates is remarkable, and that places him among the top artists of funeral doom/depressive black. His music is complex and inspirational, by all means artistic. He is not hesitant to compose long tracks that go up to 36 minutes, a true manifest of pianos, orchestral parts, guitars, percussion and organs. Intriguing instruments are also used here and there, like this somewhat xylophone in the middle of "Pyramid of the Cold Sun". The ambient and black metal parts are close to depressive black metal, in terms of speed and sound, whereas there are groundbreaking funeral doom riffs as well. A surprise might be, that some guitar lines in the album are glorious and shiny, meticulously placed at the correct places, that can tend be uplifting, despite the general despair it provokes.

I didn't give this the attention needed the first time i listened to it and i came back accidentaly, now i can see what a fool i was. It is an amazing album by an amazing band, that will please the fans and not only. It is also one of the best active one-man projects out there, look out.

DAMAGE: 8.5/10