Best of 2009

#1 - Ahab - The Divinity of Oceans

I love concept albums. To take a story from the past and express it musically you are attempting to capture the emotion that was felt while the events actually took place. This abum is based on the whaling ship Essex. I'll describe the story for you: While at sea the crew of the ship was attcked by a freakishly large sperm whale. The whale rammed itself into the side of the ship until it was destroyed and sank into the ocean. The men managed to escape the wreckage by way of three life boats and found an island on which to wait for help to come. Instead of conserving their resources the men gorged themselves on all the island had to offer and within weeks they were starving and seemingly doomed. Two groups ventured back out to sea to increase their chances of being rescued. Three men chose to stay on the island. The situation became more and more dire with starvation taking the first few lives. The men decided to resort to cannibalism feasting on the corpses of their shipmates. After the dead were consumed, the remaining men chose to draw straws to see who would be killed, and from another set of straws, decide who would be the executioner. 95 days after the Essex sank those who survived in the life boats were rescued by the Daughin, another whaling ship. It was said that the men were so dissociative that they didn't even notice the Dauphin alongside them. The men on the island were also eventually rescued moments away from death.
Now imagine the emotion that might have been felt during those 95 days. Ahab took it upon themselves to retell the story in such a way that we might know what happened to the crew of the Essex, that we might feel what it was like to face that level of desperation. This is the album of the year because it provides insight into the unthinkable and does so by redefining the genre of funeral doom. The Divinity of Oceans is expertly composed, perfectly executed, and will remain in my memory as the high point of 2009.