Ahab Lyrics, Music Inspired by the Sea on New Album

With a name like Ahab, of course borrowed from the surly captain in the literary masterpiece that is 'Moby Dick,' said band isn't masking its intentions or its love of the nautical world. Clearly, they have a little in common with Mastodon, who also address aquatic life -- such as seabeasts, creatures and the like -- on their albums! The oceanic world is a fitting complement to the metal world, and with Ahab, it certainly is part and parcel of their lyrics and music on 'The Divinity of Oceans.' The sea is something that's inspired the members of Ahab since their early days as kids.

Guitarist Daniel Droste told Noisecreep, "My first contact with the sea was during my childhood. Friends of my grandparents had a house at the Baltic Sea, so my family passed several summers there. I live in the south of Germany, where the coast is several hundreds of kilometers away, so these holidays always were a very special experience for me. I was always interested in movies, books and especially documentaries about sea-related topics. Maybe it is the variety of that topic that captures and fascinates me, the fact that it's a different living space and an overwhelming force. It's beauty or it's unexplored depths and hidden secrets."

That's certainly a romantic way to look at the force of nature that is the ocean but rather than just enjoying all that the ocean offers, Droste allowed it infiltrate his music. "You can experience the ocean with all its wits: See it, taste it, smell it and, of course, you can hear it. It sounds different and creates different moods depending on the wind. The silent surge has a very meditative effect on us," Droste also said.

Droste even compared the sea to an instrument, calling "the wind the composer. Back at school, music was one of my major fields of study. We often had to analyze or interpret classical music, something I always hated because our teacher was an insular idiot who tolerated nothing but his point of view. Now I can do it the other way round: compose topics, elements and moods. I guess I like the challenge of composing a whole topic that I'm interested in with its special moods and atmospheres."

Droste often uses his pals as guinea pigs for his oceanic influenced compositions, saying, "I like to get a neutral review from an outsider. And if that person tells me that a riff or a sound created, for example, a feeling of being underwater in his or her head, then I know that I'm on a good way. That topic is such a vast source of creativity ... you just have to dive into it and the music comes automatically!"

'The Divinity of Oceans' is out now.