Two facts concerning AHAB attracted my attention: on the one hand the musical description I heard of before and secondly the reason that two members of Midnattsol also take part in AHAB. Anyone who knows Midnattsol’s music will be very surprised by the sound offered here. No Folk melodies, no canny sentiments, no swinging songs – just depression, darkness, sluggish tempo and hopelessness. Or in short: Funeral Doom Metal!
The band has chosen Hermann Melville’s classic Moby Dick as lyrical inspiration and also the sound creates a dusky and harsh atmosphere the book also inheres. AHAB was the tyrannical captain who hunted Moby Dick and The Call Of The Wretched Sea could be a soundtrack for this merciless person’s life. AHAB manage to create a menacing atmosphere without the help of orotunity, just with slow guitar chords and a haunting voice showing some pictures before the inner eye: the vast sea, the cruel captain’s face or the endless hunt. This album takes a lot of time before you get accustomed with it. At first you won’t be very fascinated by The Call Of The Wretched Sea, maybe the call will be unheard as well, but after five times of listening, certain suspense will arise. The album has no great refrains, no single hits or easy to consume song structures. All tracks are very long (around 10 minutes playing time except a short interlude) and they live of dark moods – be aware of being not depressed while listening, because this music will bring you even further down. I like these parts best when AHAB use clean guitar melodies just like in Old Thunder which enthuses with dragging riffs and a really impressing voice, so that the over 9 minutes don’t get boring at all. This song is the one with the best alternation, which I miss in some other compositions. As mentioned above, I am sure that AHAB don’t have the aim to compose easy going music, it is music you have to listen to carefully to get swept away by the slow rolling power. The Call Of The Wretched Sea needs the right surroundings, which means day’s fall or some rainy autumn nights. So give it a try for a few times, if you like Funeral Doom Metal!