Music that truly evokes something within its listeners is generally the kind that needs to be absorbed slowly and meticulously, something of substance so abundant that it can’t be fully comprehended upon first listen.  Time is needed for its true ­­­­­weight to seep into the brain and bones of its audience, eventually taking grip indefinitely.  Evocation and contemplation are both areas in which Germany’s nautik doomsters Ahab excel, and they’ve only expounded upon those ideals with third full-length The Giant.

At times ominous and lurching, at others placid and day-dreamy, The Giant pulls listeners through all spectrums of depressive and gloomy soundscapes seamlessly.  Not relying as much on the overt crushing heaviness of albums past (though still keeping it in their arsenal) and instead taking a more atmospheric approach overall, Ahab have constructed an album as oppressive as it is beautiful.

The manipulation of atmosphere is huge within The Giant.  Opener “Further South” begins proving this with a hazy, melancholy first half, perfectly suited for distant gazing at the sea.  Soon the track swells, sucking listeners down into dissonant, crushing primordial muck with intensity before again allowing a return to the surface with a more ominous repeat of the first section of the song.  A lurching, uneasy vibe is set and hangs heavily.  Believe that when Ahab sucks you down into their depths, the atmosphere is thick but the air is very thin.

The aptly titled and suffocatingly heavy “Aeons Elapse” drags out tortured riffs layered with haunted howls before sliding into a clean guitar section, then slipping back into the deep waters of distorted despair fluidly.  The solo and repeated riff sections at the track’s last few moments then fade off into obscurity, only to quickly be ushered into “Deliverance,” a sombre and truly funeral doom-ish affair.  The shortest of The Giant’s offerings (clocking in at 7:52), “Deliverance” may also be its most effective, combining classic gloomy riffing with an unearthly pull to grief that chills immeasurably.

“Antarctica the Polymorphess,” like its sister songs, ebbs and flows effortlessly by building slowly before leaping out into great heaving crescendos of sound, eventually pulling back in and repeating.  “Fathoms Deep Blue” crashes heavily before leading into closer “The Giant,” a wrap-up of all which came before it with a heavy-as-hell ending.

While it’s hard not to wonder whether the oceanic themes pervading Ahab releases would be so recognizable without the obvious subject matter, it doesn’t really matter.  The vast, tumultuous bodies of water and beasts lurking within them that inspire Ahab’s work go hand in hand with the heavy-beyond-measure-yet-weightless quality of their music.  It’s a match made in a cold, watery hell.  The Giant further cements this and is definitely worthy of a fair listen when time allows.

(7/10 Jodi Michael)

http://www.ahab-doom.de