The Boats Of The Glen Carrig is the fourth album from funeral doomsters Ahab and it’s an absolutely mighty listen that will remain in your mind for a long time to come.
The album immediately grabs your interest with the opening track The Isle. With a very atmospheric introduction, the soft and gentle instrumentation with accompanying clean vocals give the song a mysterious and ethereal feeling before the full band kicks in with crushing riffs and powerful growled vocals, and the blend of melody and heaviness is sublime; it’s just the right balance with neither being overpowering and both elements bringing something different to the table.
Things continue very strongly from there, and middle track Red Foam (The Great Storm) is a particular highlight. Packing a real punch in its relative short duration (at least, short in comparison to the other tracks), it leaves a lasting impression on you and the triumphant guitar solo in the middle is truly something to behold.
There’s only one minor nuance in the album and it’s just that the clean vocals don’t quite have as much power as the harsh ones. They’re certainly not bad, but when juxtaposed against the screamed vocals they don’t quite have the same body. However as a whole, this is a stunning album and will certainly be one of those releases that people will be talking about for long after the release date.
9/10
