Call me Ishmael. Some time ago -never mind how precisely- having little interest in doing homework and nothing else in particular, I thought i would set sail and search the watery parts of the internet for something new. And so i came across Ahab’s doom metal masterpiece, “The Call of the Wretched Sea“. If there’s anything you can get out of this review, it’s this:
This. Band. Is. Heavy.
That is an extreme understatement. This band and album make death metal bands like Cannibal Corpse sound like Buddy Holly. “Call of the Wretched Sea” is an album taken straight from Herman Melville’s horrifying tale of doom, despair, an unforgiving sea, and insanity (as well as sound bytes from the original movie). The album called… so naturally i heeded.
And boy does it deliver on it’s promise of being the darkest album of doom metal ever created. The riffs come crashing into you like slow, deep waves of bone-crushing power. The vocals seem to emanate from the very bowels of the earth, causing the foundations of all life to uproot itself and die. Not to mention the ominous Gregorian chants that appear throughout the album. The songs really create a sense of dread of being alone in the middle of the violent, dark, and unforgiving ocean…waiting to kill or be killed by the Great Whale your insane captain so incessantly searches for. There isn’t a single drop of happiness or anything remotely uplifting about this album. It may start lightly, but the waves of guitars only get bigger, heavier, and darker, and the thunderous drums keep sending you deeper and deeper into the abyss, crushing your entire being until even your soul is forever trapped in a cold, dark, and wet hell.
And i love every second of it!
This album really takes a dedicated listening time and definitely can not be used as your quick music fix of the day. Every track (minus one bridging/interlude track) spans at least 10 minutes, the longest clocking at 12:36. If your a fan of bands like Isis, Pelican, or just about any prog metal/rock band, this probably isn’t an issue for you. And this certainly is not your standard blast beat, hardcore, melt your face off metal band. It kills you slowly with pretty much every track playing at around 50-60bpm. But there are very unique melodies and harmonies found in this style, and a discerning ear can tell there is complexity despite the crushing slowness of the album. It takes a whole lot of talent to make each track as long and epic as they are while maintaining complexity and not becoming stale or repetitive. I can’t name a single band or album that plays and arranges their songs in such a way to create this dreading sensation of impending doom and the sheer “largeness” to their songs. It really makes you feel small amidst it’s endless ocean of sound. This is not an album for the faint of heart. If any band could give you nightmares, it most certainly would be Ahab. If you bother to listen to this and worry for my well-being, I don’t blame you. It’s heavy material.
I’m happy to inform you that the well-being of my soul is still perfectly intact despite taking a liking to this masterpiece of Nautik Funeral Doom Metal. I’m still the happy, joking, fun-loving Sean you all know and love! Yet I eagerly await the next installment, as this one (story-wise) ends with much more to be desired.
If you think you have the cahones the size of a whale’s (as well as the time) to tackle this album (conveniently all on myspace music), by all means do and tell me what you think! Nightmare stories are welcome as well.
