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Kalaratri
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Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2020 3:22 pm
Posts: 2509
PostPosted: Thu Nov 10, 2022 11:39 am 
 
German funeral doom metallers Ahab will release their fifth full length, The Coral Tombs, on January 13 through Napalm Records. From the press release:

Quote:
Following their much acclaimed, chart-impacting 2015 release, The Boats Of The Glenn Carrig, and their epic Live Prey release (2020), 2023 will see nautik funeral doom metal masters AHAB celebrate their 19th band anniversary in glorious style.

Inspired this time by Jules Verne’s masterpiece 20000 Leagues Under The Sea, on January 13, 2023, the German four-piece and trailblazers of an entire genre will return with their fifth studio album, entitled The Coral Tombs, on Napalm Records! The album will mark their first full-length offering in eight long years.

The kings of nautik doom – a genre they invented – once again interpret a maritime novel. But the opening of their new album,
‘Prof. Arronax’ descent into the vast oceans’, will prove a surprise indeed, when a thunder of blast beats turns into the epic grandeur of infinite melancholy-meets-heavy that AHAB is known and loved for.

Throughout seven new tracks, and on songs such as ‘Colossus of the liquid graves’ or otherworldly evil magnum opus ‘Mobilis in Mobili‘, AHAB take their fans on a new musical journey with Captain Nemo and Professor Arronax. Furthermore, of their entire discography, The Coral Tombs is arguably the closest AHAB has come to their sound resembling a real soundtrack: it’s evil, it’s longing, it’s sad, it’s meditative, it’s cavernous, it’s vast, it’s ridiculously epic and as heavy as the colossal squid itself!

For The Coral Tombs, AHAB invited Chris Dark of ULTHA and none other than the master of extreme doom himself, Greg Chandler - singer and mastermind of ESOTERIC - as special guests. Chris Dark (along with AHAB’s exceptional vocalist Daniel Droste) has the first words on the album, while Greg Chandler closes this incredible ride through the depths of the vast oceans and the abysmal nature of mankind. AHAB not only invented and still steer the ship of their genre, but The Coral Tombs is poised to top 2023 Album Of The Year lists and will see the band sailing again as one of the best funeral doom metal bands of all time!


Image

Tracklisting:
1. Prof. Arronax’ Descent into the Vast Oceans
2. Collosus of the Liquid Graves
3. Mobilis in Mobili
4. The Sea as a Desert
5. A Coral Tomb
6. Ægri Somnia
7. The Mælstrom

Prof. Arronax’ Descent into the Vast Oceans has been released as the first single:
Spoiler: show


It's been too long since the last Ahab album so I'm glad their back with some new music. The beginning of that track is fairly out of left field for them, did not expect all that blasting. I was wondering when they were going to do a 20000 Leagues Under The Sea concept album so this should be an interesting journey.
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Cirrus uncinus
Metal newbie

Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2022 2:56 pm
Posts: 34
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Nov 10, 2022 11:48 am 
 
Indeed, did not expect that opening at all! It's been ages since I listened to Ahab so I can't fully remember what their new direction sounds like nor how the single fits into that direction. Nevertheless, it's quite atmospheric and nice (ends kind of abruptly though, I was expecting the last section to develop for a bit more).

Excited for the closer with Greg Chandler from Esoteric!
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henkkjelle
Metal freak

Joined: Fri Jun 17, 2011 3:54 pm
Posts: 4478
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Thu Nov 10, 2022 12:31 pm 
 
Man I didn't realize The Boats of the Glen Carrig released all the way back in 2015. Time flies. I love that opening serving as an explosive proclamation of the band's return.
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LilTito
Metalhead

Joined: Thu May 13, 2021 3:10 pm
Posts: 430
Location: Croatia
PostPosted: Thu Nov 10, 2022 1:58 pm 
 
Finally a new album with a octopus-themed cover :)
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Twisted_Psychology
Metal freak

Joined: Sat May 16, 2009 8:22 pm
Posts: 6080
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Nov 10, 2022 3:45 pm 
 
I was late to the Ahab party but they've come to be my favorite funeral doom band. Looking forward to this!
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Prairieshadow
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Jul 26, 2006 9:01 am
Posts: 435
PostPosted: Thu Nov 10, 2022 5:54 pm 
 
After releasing what I consider one of the greatest albums of the genre and which I would probably put on my top ten of all time, The Call of the Wretched Sea, every release after has been progressively less and less interesting to me. In some ways I'm liking this more than anything since the debut, but in others I'm not really digging it at all. Not sure what I'm going to make of this one, though I had long ago stopped hoping the next album might be even close to as awesome as TCotWS. I assume some others must feel as I do, considering they released a live version of the album a few years ago.
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tahu157
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2014 10:22 pm
Posts: 910
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Nov 10, 2022 7:18 pm 
 
Been wondering if they were just finished writing music at this point or what. Glad to see they're still writing though!
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draconiondevil
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Mar 26, 2008 4:21 pm
Posts: 621
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Fri Nov 11, 2022 11:00 am 
 
Track lengths are available on Apple Music. They are as follows:

1. Prof. Arronax’ Descent into the Vast Oceans - 8:06
2. Collosus of the Liquid Graves - 6:26
3. Mobilis in Mobili - 8:20
4. The Sea as a Desert - 10:49
5. A Coral Tomb - 10:11
6. Ægri Somnia - 12:22
7. The Mælstrom - 10:02

Total runtime: 1:06:15
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Ezadara
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Dec 28, 2017 10:32 pm
Posts: 527
PostPosted: Fri Nov 11, 2022 12:14 pm 
 
I'm generally not a huge fan of their music, but man, this band's always got killer album artwork.
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Earthshine
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Oct 09, 2014 11:53 pm
Posts: 155
PostPosted: Fri Nov 11, 2022 1:41 pm 
 
Been waiting for this and jeez it sounds great!!
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Oddeye
Metalhead

Joined: Sun Jun 28, 2009 12:24 pm
Posts: 2265
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Sat Nov 12, 2022 3:39 pm 
 
Wow that cover is beyond awesome. I would love to have it on my wall, I hope it will be sold as a poster.
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Runko
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Sep 11, 2014 1:38 pm
Posts: 521
PostPosted: Sat Nov 12, 2022 4:09 pm 
 
I've cared for them less and less the more melodic they get but each album still has some bangers.
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Kalaratri
Veteran

Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2020 3:22 pm
Posts: 2509
PostPosted: Wed Dec 07, 2022 3:02 pm 
 
The second single is out. It might just be me but I detect a bit of a trad doom influence in this one.


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Sonic Death
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Sat Jul 23, 2022 11:55 pm
Posts: 17
Location: Bosnia and Herzegovina
PostPosted: Sun Dec 11, 2022 3:15 pm 
 
They certainly don't disappoint, that's for sure, I hope the rest of the album will be as interesting as this one and that they will not fail miserably and that they needlessly embarrass themselves, although when it comes to them I have some doubts about it, they still know what they are doing
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Kalaratri
Veteran

Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2020 3:22 pm
Posts: 2509
PostPosted: Fri Jan 13, 2023 10:15 pm 
 
The final single (and the album) is out today.



On first listen I'd say they've managed to release another strong record. On the whole it's a a heavier record than The Boats of the Glen Carrig with enough new elements added in to keep things interesting. The closing track with Greg Chandler's guest spot is one of the best songs they've written in recent memory.
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lord_ghengis
Still Standing After 38 Beers... hic

Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2006 8:31 pm
Posts: 5833
Location: Australia
PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 2:37 am 
 
Starts pretty solidly with the 2nd and 3rd being pretty damn good songs, but then it settles back into the standard post-debut mode of being almost entirely focused on pretty mellow melodies and it's dull. Bugger, it gave me hope for a minute there.
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AuthorOfWoh
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2022 1:52 pm
Posts: 50
PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 4:12 pm 
 
It's a great album. Probably the best thing they've done since Call of the Wretched Sea. They've grown into their melodic side and the songs are memorable and monolithic without sounding exhausting.
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Twisted_Psychology
Metal freak

Joined: Sat May 16, 2009 8:22 pm
Posts: 6080
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 5:23 pm 
 
This is a really great album but marathoning their discography has reminded me of how samey their albums get after the debut. Definitely another one of those bands that feels hard to review because it's just like "yep, this sure is an Ahab record all right 8.5-9/10."
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Lyrici17
Metalhead

Joined: Tue Sep 16, 2008 3:20 am
Posts: 1442
Location: United States of America
PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 9:33 pm 
 
After a few listens, I'd probably put it as my 3rd favorite (after the first 2 albums), but also agree with the general sentiment stated here that it is very similar overall to all of their releases.
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luxul
Metalhead

Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2008 4:22 pm
Posts: 832
Location: Austin, Texas
PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 10:15 pm 
 
Tremendous album. Easily will be in my AOTY list. I think its better than both Boats.. and The Giant. Just short of The Divinity.. in greatness. Solid record all the way through, imo. Really enjoyed the guest vocals (Ultha & Esoteric) as well.
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theagentcoma
Metalhead

Joined: Sun Aug 07, 2016 12:31 am
Posts: 610
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 11:11 pm 
 
I never listened to this band, but heard the new song and loved it. Guess I'll jump on the hype train.
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poormouth100
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Sat Jul 09, 2022 2:34 pm
Posts: 22
PostPosted: Fri Jan 20, 2023 8:38 pm 
 
I quite liked this one, it's not as good as their best stuff but absolutely worth listening to for fans of funeral/death doom metal. Probably won't be among the best of the year but a suitably mournful and heavy listen regardless.
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HeavenDuff
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 10:35 pm
Posts: 4364
Location: Montréal
PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 3:26 pm 
 
This one is my first solid contender for album of the year so far. I know there's gotta be a lot of great music released this year, but damn! this new album is absolutely stunning!
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doomicus
Metalhead

Joined: Wed May 14, 2008 5:58 am
Posts: 1222
Location: United States
PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 10:24 pm 
 
Just when I thought they couldn't get anymore boring they outdid their self. Cure for insomnia if there ever was one.
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Metal_On_The_Ascendant
Veteran

Joined: Fri May 22, 2015 6:38 am
Posts: 2565
PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 11:21 pm 
 
doomicus wrote:
Just when I thought they couldn't get anymore boring they outdid their self. Cure for insomnia if there ever was one.


Fuck...off...lol

I was listening to it this morning and thinking it gets better each time and that I should re-read Jules Verne's low-key racist stories...which I won't because why??? but the new Ahab is that good to make me wanna reconsider.
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