There are vocalists who scream, sing, and grunt. And then there’s Daniel Droste.
The Ahab frontman and mainstay has, since 2004, imbued into doom metal a unique, untouchable style of singing which surpasses anything else heard to date. It’s matter-of-fact, informative and in a class of its own.
The latest example – The Coral Tombs (Napalm Records) – is a shining continuation of the mercurial Droste and his uncanny ability to hold court in the form of gurgling harsh lines or higher pitched, instantly recognizable, melodious verses. Not entirely unlike, say, The Boats Of The Glen Carrig (2015), this record has further elevated the German nautik-funeral doomsters’ status.
Realistically, Droste isn’t the only anchor that stabilizes this highly regarded act. Rounded out by Christian Hector (guitars), Stephan Wandernoth (bass) and Cornelius Althammer (drums), the four-piece has made a career out of going where no vessel has gone before, rigidly sticking to their thematic odyssey.
In these seven captivating songs, The Coral Tombs represents Ahab’s untouchable growth and maturation. The doom elements drag like a listless, abandoned ship. The distorted guitars foreshadow an anticipated demise.
Droste always has an ace up his sleeve, pummeling listeners with gargled grunts and horrified shrills right out the gates. Predatory, frothing-at-the-mouth vocals and whispered, throaty bloats blacken the scene. But it’s the vast, expansive range of his singing which allows the sixty-six minutes to enthrall and entice, a clarion call of pain and solitude.
The band’s discography is so meticulously devised that the nearly decade-long gap between full-lengths doesn’t feel half as long. And the finished product is chock full of enough sensational moments to hold off rabid fans for as long as the next record surfaces.
In the meantime, The Coral Tombs is the flagship of Ahab’s back catalog. And as 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is water, there is a seemingly perpetual source from which to draw future inspiration.
Buy the album here:
9 / 10
MATT COOK