When we take into consideration the heavy hitters in the modern landscape of doom metal, Ahab simply must be one that’s mentioned in mere seconds. An aquatic take on a vicious sound that has always been as heavy as the very oceans crushing their weight onto you, this has never been a band to disappoint, not meet expectations, or not find themselves able to deliver a fresh experience that checks off all the right boxes. It has been eight long years since their last outing, but it’s clear that the time has been well-spent in crafting their newest expedition to the depths with them again adapting a well-beloved nautical novel with all the finesse, talent, and grandeur that one would expect from the name of Ahab.

Already, we have been assured a bombastic start to 2023 when it comes to the variety and quality of metal releases that we will see released very early on. Each big style already has something massive to look forward to unleashing with death metal getting Leper Colony’s debut alongside Conjureth’s upcoming stroke of genius, black metal has Ashen Horde’s newest to coincide with the melodic fascination of the latest from Inherits the Void, and doom metal already has enough to flex with a new effort from the ever-reliable The Howling Void, but it’s with Ahab now joining its ranks that doom is also off to a tremendously bombastic start. And should anyone dare think that Ahab would come even close to dropping the ball for their fifth full-length album in a nineteen-year run, I spit upon your insolence! Long has Ahab been a massive presence that has never been one to estimate, and with their adaption of “10,000 Leagues Under the Sea”, it is “The Coral Tombs” that only further enhances the reputation and undeniable power that this band has long possessed. For the absolute whole of this record with its seven tracks stretching for a runtime that runs over an hour long, “The Coral Tombs” strike on every note that Ahab has ever dominated in no less than stupendous fashion. From its drawn-out melodies that go hand-in-hand with uncompromising heaviness, sorrow, and power the likes of which there is never any truly coming back, every step of this album has something undeniable to call its own whether it comes from the storytelling or the musicianship that Ahab has always had in absolute heaps.

It makes for another victory in the discography of Ahab and the most dominating creation that doom metal could possibly ask to start out 2023 with even as it finds itself slowly becoming surrounded by more than worthy contemporary acts. To dive into the glistening, swallowing depths of “The Coral Tombs” is to submerge yourself in another epic outing from Ahab that makes an eight-year feel like no time at all with this record feeling all but destined to be held in high reverence much like its predecessors.

“The Coral Tombs” releases on January 13th via Napalm Records!

LISTEN to singles from “The Coral Tombs” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Ahab on Facebook here.