CRUSTCAKE PICKS - NEW CAKE IN THE OVEN: AHAB'S THE CALL OF THE WRETCHED SEA

[Ed. note: Though we normally pick our Cakes in the Oven from among the newest (or most recent) of releases, we thought Beau did such a good job on this one that we wanted to share it with you anyway, despite its arguable staleness. The album really is as good as he says it is. Plus, Ahab's new record is barely three months old, so check it out if you like your cake a tad more moist.]

by Beatmasterspeech (LA)

Download: Ahab - "The Hunt" [MP3]

As Germany's self-proclaimed "nautical doom pioneers," Ahab navigate one hell of a cold, dark abyss on their 2006 release, The Call of the Wretched Sea. This magnificent display of funeral dirge is the second offering in a three-part concept series based on famous nautical-themed books they call the "Nantucket Saga." Ahab released the third and final installment, The Divinity of Oceans, in July. On Wretched Sea, the quartet chose the Herman Melville classic Moby-Dick, going so far as to quote passages from the book directly. Sound familiar? It should. Though Mastodon took on the White Whale a full two years earlier, I would put up cash money that Ahab's rendering of ole' Moby Dick is 10 tons heavier than the boys' from ATL.

As for the music itself, multi-instrumentalist Daniel Droste (Midnattsol)'s somber synths and guttural growls evoke the darker side of Swallow the Sun or Opeth and drummer Cornelius Althammer must have been recorded on a frigid glacier in the bleakest of climes. I just can't say enough about the textures this recording explores: raw, desolate, depressive, sometimes just plain pissed off, Ahab's The Call of the Wretched Sea should be a standard for European funeral doom. Their July release, The Divinity of Oceans, sees the band pushing into proggier territory, abandoning the growl as the sole vocal hallmark and blending in some baritone howls. Start with Wretched Sea to get the full effect of Ahab's maritime sadness then sail onto their current release.