''Death Came Through a Phantom Ship'' is the second studio album by Dutch
symphonic black metal
Symphonic black metal is a subgenre of black metal that emerged in the 1990s and incorporates symphonic and orchestral elements. Notable symphonic black metal bands include Cradle Of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, and Carach Angren.
History
...
band
Carach Angren
Carach Angren is a Dutch symphonic black metal band, founded in 2003 by two members of the now-defunct bands Inger Indolia and Vaultage. Their style is characterized by prominent usage of orchestral arrangements, black (sometimes death) metal vo ...
, It was released in 2010.
This album tells the legend of a ghost ship (an interpretation of the ''
Flying Dutchman
The ''Flying Dutchman'' ( nl, De Vliegende Hollander) is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The myth is likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dut ...
''
) from its beginnings. While a wide variety of interpretations of the ''
Flying Dutchman
The ''Flying Dutchman'' ( nl, De Vliegende Hollander) is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The myth is likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dut ...
'' legend exist, the band says that the album is based on the Dutch interpretation of the story. However, they took some creative liberties with it to make it a more horrifying story.
The album starts in the future, when a boat with an electronic communication device sails to the sea. The boat picks up signs of an eerie voice cursing its captain's name through the radio. Then a ghost ship comes across the sea. The sailors then remember stories about how people who saw that ship died in horrible ways. In track No. 3, in the same day of the sighting, later that night, the captain is haunted by the ghost of the seas. He kills his wife and daughter while sleepwalking and then kills himself with a shotgun. After that, it begins telling the story of Van der Decken and how he became the captain of an evil ship.
Style
The album contains
symphonic black metal
Symphonic black metal is a subgenre of black metal that emerged in the 1990s and incorporates symphonic and orchestral elements. Notable symphonic black metal bands include Cradle Of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, and Carach Angren.
History
...
although the vocals are kept clear.
Parallels to
Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir () is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, ...
have been observed in the keyboard lines and the vocals'
timbre
In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or musical tone, tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voice ...
. The structure of the songs has been described as "bulky" with many abrupt breaks,
[ which is contrary to traditional black metal structures.][
]
Reception
''Death Came Through a Phantom Ship'' received positive reviews from Sputnikmusic and the German edition of Metal Hammer
''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...
. The former observed that the band had even improved their instrumental qualities compared to their debut album '' Lammendam'' and recommended the new album for listeners new to the genre. Metal Hammer praised the diversity of the songs but was sceptical of their unusual structure.[
]
Track listing
* All music by Seregor, Ardek & Namtar
* Main compositions by Ardek
* Lyrics by Seregor and Erik Wijnands (Negakinu Photography)
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
;Carach Angren
* Dennis "Seregor" Droomers - guitars and vocals, choir on track 6
* Clemens "Ardek" Wijers - orchestration and keyboards, backing vocals on track 1 & 6, choir on track 6
*Ivo "Namtar" Wijers - drums and percussion
;Additional musicians
*Patrick Damiani (Rome, Le Grand Guignol) - bass-guitar & additional guitars, choir on track 6
*Nikos Mavridis (Rome) - violins on tracks 3, 4, 5 and 9
;Team
*Patrick Damiani - recording and mixing at Tidalwave Studios (www.tidalwave.de)
*Patrick Damiani and Carach Angren - producing
*24-96 Mastering - mastering
*Carach Angren and Erik Wijnands - artwork
*Erik Wijnands (www.myspace.com/negakinu) - all photography, textures & design
References