The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Cornelius Althammer of Ahab

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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

Well, I am a rocker and I was born that way. There is even a picture if me as an embryo raising my fist, haha! I impossibly could think of anything else because I have no other interests than music. If I am not playing drums or thinking about riffs, breaks, grooves or similar it’s very likely I order microphone stands, cables or cymbals. I am a nerd within my very own world and it feels totally natural.

As a band we play nautik doom. Daniel’s and Christian’s shared vision led us where we are now. I was just lucky being asked, if I’d like to join.

Describe your first musical memory.

That was probably my mother singing. But I am not sure about that.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

All the times I did something for the first time. First time of listening to Iron Maiden. Finally managing how to play blastbeats.

First time playing abroad. All the times writing an album with the boys or being in the studio and having this magic going on. …first time listening to the finished mix of an album.

But there is nothing as “that one experience”.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

Oh, my beliefs are being tested every single day. It may be the conflict between what I’d love to do with all my bands and everyday life that constantly shrinks these dreams to tiny versions of themselves. Or the belief in myself and my competence versus very slow progress when practising.

The key is to cling to these beliefs, because in the end they’re the only things that keep me going.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

This is not easy to answer. In the first place it should lead to fulfillment of ones artistical dreams. Like “I always dreamt of making an album like this and finally I can play and compose the way I need to do so”. So if everything works out artistic progression leads to better music and therefore is the best thing in the world. So the worst thing that could happen may be people are not ready for your music, yet.

If things go wrong you just fuck it up and compose rubbish that results from being burnt out by a merciless album-tour-album-tour-album-tour schedule and a desperate need for a break. Lucky you, if you realize that you should in fact take a break and leave the demos for that “emancipative” album what they are…

How do you define success?

Being able to to what I want, getting better at it and not starving while doing so.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

The news, every fucking time I incidentally switch on the TV.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

My next song, haha!

Or, to become very unrealistic here, a space where artists can do their stuff without being in constant fear of getting kicked out of their place due to gentrification. But for this I would need to become a billionaire and learn how to manage things. Or probably first learn management and then become rich…

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

Enhancing consciousness. Art doesn’t have borders. Being the counterpart of the rational, scientific side of life, it adds the soul to the mind. It is the fantastic, creative part that makes us human.
Thinking about this, the artwork of Black Sabbath’s “Dehumanizer” comes to my mind. This is the very scenery that happens, if you take art away from mankind.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

Summer.

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Ahab, The Coral Tombs (2023)

What might legitimately be called a ‘return’ since it’s their first studio album in eight years, Ahab‘s The Coral Tombs (on Napalm Records) brings the perhaps-inevitable meeting between the nautically-themed Heidelberg, Germany, death-doom metallers and the subject matter of Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. That rare bit of sci-fi that’s become part of the literary canon, the tale of Captain Nemo, Professor Pierre Arronax, and the undersea vessel Nautilus is a story that’s been told and retold, adapted across media that didn’t even exist when it was written, and interpreted by the public domain since its first serialized publication in 1869-1870, the story and the band — whose most recent studio album was 2015’s The Boats of the Glen Carrig, also based on a 1907 novel by William Hope Hodgson; does nobody write about the ocean anymore? — are well suited to each other.

Here, the sound is bleak, extreme, and duly funereal for an offering with ‘tombs’ in its title, and in the mournful severity of a song like “Mobilis in Mobilii,” which is third in the seven-song sequence after “Prof. Arronax’s Descent Into the Vast Oceans,” featuring a guest vocal contribution from Chris Dark of Köln’s Ultha, and “Colossus of the Liquid Graves,” which is the shortest inclusion at 6:25 and a work of lurching, consuming death resolved in its own dirge march in its second half, The Coral Tombs brings an inescapable sense of all-sides crushing pressure. Both because of the band’s stated theme, their obvious awareness of their own intentions five albums and 18 years into their tenure, and the general nature of doom itself — they are by no means the only ones to relate slow, undulating riffs to salty waves — it’s somewhat hard to get away from watery metaphors, but even in its quietest, creepier stretches, the purposefully overwhelming 66 minutes of The Coral Tombs is farther down than the sun goes, atmospherically speaking, and monstrous like the unknown.

A return to producer/engineer Jens Siefert at RAMA Studios in Mannheim assures that the four-piece — founding guitarists Daniel Droste (also vocals and keys) and Christian Hector, as well as bassist Stephan Wandernoth and drummer Cornelius Althammer, who, yes, has the most righteous name a drummer could possibly ask for; I do not know if he was born with it, but kudos either way — sound duly masterful in their approach, and, on the most basic level, huge. One cannot manifest the impossible reaches and deadly wondrousness of the Earth’s waters, which threaten to drown even as they hypnotize with its beauty, in minor fashion, and Ahab have been at this a while now, so it should be no surprise they know what they’re doing. The Coral Tombs‘ songs are shorter on average than were those of The Boats of the Glen Carrig — the band also released Live Prey (review here) in 2020; they have not been absent these last eight years — as that album had one of six pieces under 10 minutes long and this one has three of seven and nothing that reaches longer than 12, but long or short, it is the ambience and the willful slog that make the most resonant impression, such that the sheer heft of their tonality, tectonically significant as it might be, is only part of their aesthetic.

The mood of centerpiece “The Sea as a Desert,” for example, feels even more crucial than the impact, particularly as Droste departs from low death metal growling in favor of a wistful clean-sung midsection and ending that is worthy of comparison to Warning. That’s not his first trade between harshness and melody on The Coral Tombs, but it is one that works particularly well amid the swaying progression that backs it, and as “The Sea as a Desert” is the first of four cuts all of which top 10 minutes — a monolith that comprises the bulk of the record that would be a full-length unto itself, if incomplete in narrative — it also draws the listener deeper into the grim grandeur that continues to unfold across “A Coral Tomb,” “Ægri Somnia” and closer “The Mælstrom,” which bookends Chris Dark‘s guest appearance on “Prof. Arronax’s Descent Into the Vast Oceans” by welcoming Greg Chandler of experimentalist doom extremists Esoteric for a corresponding vocal spot.

While the ocean teems with life — less so thanks to humans and our collective affinity for habitat destruction, but still — “A Coral Tomb” is relatively minimal, holding a persistent threat across its first eight minutes that even when it surges to full crescendo remains consistent in its atmospheric lean, and “Ægri Somnia” follows suit with a beginning of softly meandering guitar that seems to grow more mysterious and sinister as it develops toward the eventual crash and growls, which, as with the song before, give way to melodic singing that is sustained through the ending. One wonders if Droste needs to growl at all at this point, but the honest answer is probably yes. With a feedback ending awaiting, “Ægri Somnia” arrives at a viciously heavy apex, and lets “The Mælstrom” with its more immediate and clean-vocals-up-front start serve as the capstone for The Coral Tombs‘ entire procession.

The feeling is duly ceremonial for being both the summary of the record and the end of the story being related, and with Chandler‘s vocals placed near the ending, Ahab effectively cast the finish as something bigger than themselves, a kind of bowing to the immensity that, indeed, they’ve made all along, but is that much truer to what they’re portraying for the choice. It is not a decision one would expect from a new band, but though they haven’t had a studio LP (or 2LP, or 3LP, etc.) in some time, Ahab are nonetheless veterans, with an established aural persona the parameters of which serve as a guide for their ongoing creative development. By its very character, let alone the contextual sphere in which it resides, The Coral Tombs will likely not be universal in its appeal, but while some listeners won’t be able to reach it, others will dive that much deeper for the cold siren calls ringing out from this material.

Ahab, The Coral Tombs (2023)

Ahab on Instagram

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Napalm Records website

Ahab emerge from the watery depths with new tales of tonal drudgery and doomed plunder. The nautically-themed four-piece haven’t had a studio record since 2015’s The Boats of the Glen Garrig, so yeah, they’re due even with the live album they did in 2020 (review here), and Napalm will issue The Coral Tombs on Jan. 13 as the band tackles 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, because I guess if you’re going to do a thing, go all in. The opening track, “Prof. Arronax’s Descent Into the Vast Oceans,” would certainly seem to do that, with a guest appearance from Ultha‘s Chris Dark, an outright punishment of a beginning, and a slow lurch that emerges as they lead listeners on the downward dive.

The Coral Tombs is a fun title, though I almost can’t help but think of the fact that thanks to the rising temperatures of the oceans and all the garbage humanity as dumped therein, reefs are dying off causing even more devastation to the planet’s ecosystem, so yeah, I guess in addition to the literary there’s another meaning one might take as we actively, daily work to make our home less habitable, but screw it, we’ll get ours. We already are, in fire, flood and plague. Might as well enjoy some classic sci-fi doom while we wait for the other shoe/ice shelf to drop.

Kudos to the band on making their own videos though. I’d watch jellyfish swim and listen to Ahab for a full visual album if it came to it. Actually, that’d be awesome.

The PR wire brings details on the record, shows, all kinds of silly vinyl pressings that people like and so on:

Nautik Doom Metal Masters AHAB Announce New Album, The Coral Tombs, And Share Epic Lyric Video For First Single

The Coral Tombs out on January 13, 2023 via Napalm Records – Pre-Order HERE: https://lnk.to/AhabTheCoralTombs

Following their much acclaimed, chart-impacting 2015 album, The Boats Of The Glenn Carrig, and the epic Live Prey release (2020), 2023 will see extreme doom metal masters AHAB celebrate their 19th band anniversary in glorious style: On January 13, 2023, the German four-piece will return with their fifth studio album, entitled The Coral Tombs, on Napalm Records! The release will mark their first full-length offering in eight long years.

The kings of nautik doom – a genre they invented – once again interpret a maritime novel, inspired this time by Jules Verne’s masterpiece 20000 Leagues Under The Sea. Throughout seven new tracks, AHAB take their fans on a new musical journey with Captain Nemo and Professor Arronax. Of their entire discography, The Coral Tombs is arguably the closest the band has come to their sound resembling a real soundtrack: it’s evil, it’s longing, it’s sad, it’s meditative, it’s cavernous, it’s vast, it’s ridiculously epic and as heavy as the colossal squid itself!

But give ear, as today AHAB has shared a lyric video for their first single and album opening track, “Prof. Arronax’ descent into the vast oceans”. The song not only features ULTHA‘s Chris Dark on guest vocals, but sees AHAB unleash a colossal thunder of blast beats and pitch black vibes before shifting into the epic grandeur of the melancholic-yet heaviness the band is known and loved for.

“How else could we have started our new album after 8 years wait? I love the unexpected, so it feels kinda natural to start that thunderous,” guitarist Christian Hector comments.

“The song tells the first milestone of “20,000 leagues under the sea“, when the Nautilus attacks and Professor Arronax and Conseil go over board and nearly drown. Of course we also introduce Captain Nemo in the first song. I cut the video myself as Napalm Records asked us for some videos – it’s a lyric nautic video. We’ll do two DIY videos and one professional video.”

The Coral Tombs was recorded, mixed and mastered by Jens Siefert at RAMA Studios in Mannheim, Germany. Along with AHAB’s exceptional vocalist Daniel Droste, the album features guest appearances of ULTHA’s Chris Dark as well as none other than the master of extreme doom himself, Greg Chandler – singer and mastermind of ESOTERIC, who closes the album and an incredible ride through the depths of vast oceans and the abysmal nature of mankind. AHAB not only invented and still steer the ship of their genre, but The Coral Tombs is poised to top 2023 Album Of The Year lists and will see the band sailing again as one of the best extreme doom metal bands of all time!

Tracklist:
01. Prof. Arronax’ descent into the vast oceans
02. Colossus of the liquid graves
03. Mobilis in mobili
04. The sea as a desert
05. A coral tomb
06. Ægri somnia
07. The Mælstrom

The Coral Tombs will be available in the following formats:
– 1CD Digisleeve
– 2LP Gatefold BLACK
– 2LP Gatefold CURACAO
– 3LP Die Hard/Slow Vinyl Edition CLEAR/ORANGE MARBLED in Slipcase
– Musicassette
– Ltd. Edition Musicassette (Clear Frosted / recycled plastic)
– 2LP Gatefold Glow In The Dark (Band only)
– Digital Album
– CD Digisleeve + Shirt Bundle

[ Artwork by Sebastian Jerke ]

In support of their upcoming album release, AHAB will be playing a series of exclusive shows, where they will also debut a bunch of new songs live. Make sure to catch them at the following dates:

17.11.2022 (DE) Jena / Kuba*
18.11.2022 (DE) Berlin / ORWO Haus (only 150 tickets available)*
19.11.2022 (DE) Hamburg / MS Stubnitz (Live show on a boat!)*
20.11.2022 (DE) Oberhausen / Helvete (only 200 tickets available)*
* with STAGWOUNDER
17.12.2022 (DE) Stuttgart / Club Cann
14.01.2023 (DE) Braunschweig / Jugendkirche Braunschweig (Album Release Show in a Church + Reading by Krachmucker TV’s Ernie Fleetenkicker!)

AHAB is:
Cornelius Althammer – drums & percussion
Daniel Droste – vocals & guitar
Christian Hector – guitar
Stephan Wandernoth – bass

https://www.instagram.com/ahabdoom
https://www.facebook.com/AhabDoom
https://www.ahab-doom.de

https://www.facebook.com/napalmrecords
http://label.napalmrecords.com/

Ahab, “Prof. Arronax’ Descent Into the Vast Oceans” lyric video