CALL ME ISHMAEL

At first glance, A Girl, A Gun, A Ghost’s LP sits nicely on the shelves amidst other contemporaries in metaldom. But a closer listen reveals something a bit deeper. The vocal delivery is not the typical inaudible/guttural variety that heavy music offers today. I would put the vocals closer to a Mewithoutyou/Fugazi/These Arms Are Snakes meets hardcore place—somewhere between speaking and screaming, a la older eras of hardcore.

The music itself features dissonant chords and riffs rather than off time stops and squeels. The result is something different (thank heaven) than much of what is out there and reminds me of The Refused meets Isis meets Every Time I Die.

Through the Eyes of Ahab is not exactly hardcore, but heavier than rock. And it is quite unpredictable. Not to mention the fact that the album itself is a concept piece taken from Moby Dick, examining similar issues regarding the human condition: religion, godliness and faith. Though its spiritual sentiments are found subtlety throughout, the lyrical content is thought-provoking enough to inspire you to go to new places within yourself. “Pangolin Dreams” is a mid-tempo focal track that typifies the band’s individualistic energy. Overall, this is a disk from another Southern band (Savannah, Georgia to be exact) that proves they’re putting something special into the sweet tea below the Mason Dixon line.

--Andrew Schwab