The reason for this is the record's nuanced balance between accessibility and atmosphere. Death Came Through a Phantom Ship recounts the legend of The Flying Dutchman, a ship cursed by God to sail endlessly without resting in port. Carach Angren (or "Iron Jaws" in J.R.R. Tolkien's Elvish) tackles this tale with aplomb, delivering their lyrics with over-the-top theatricality and their music with a mix of majestic symphonic sound effects and grim metal. It's not just a superb record, but an entertaining story as well.

"Electronic Voice Phenomenon" yields the introduction to this brine-soaked yarn with eerie keys and a frantic voice radioing a vessel lost at sea. "The Sighting is a Portent of Doom" reveals that dark forces are afoot, exploding out of stereos with icy melodies, massive riffs and a total bombardment of double-bass drums. Equally interesting is the song's protagonist, a loner who spies a spectral ship in the mists one dreary night. His disorientation at this spectacle is expressed eloquently, backed by symphonic metal as sleek as it is savage.

"And the Consequence Macabre" confirms this character's fate is a gruesome one, its bloody imagery backed by melancholy strings and a frigid piano interlude. All these elements coalesce into a series of slamming, speed-picked melodies and one of the most sickening sing-alongs this season.

The rest of the album concerns itself with recounting how Captain Van der Decken (Dutch for "He of the Decks") came under the curse of The Flying Dutchman. "Van der Decken's Triumph" gives listeners a good idea, painting the titular captain as a greedy racist with a brush of boisterous synthesizers and big, arena-ready riffs. "Bloodstains on the Captain's Log" further records Van der Decken's descent into madness, letting loose gloomy orchestral sound effects and blastbeat drumming which pops like rifle shot. It also contains some of the album's most brutalizing riffs, bobbing and ebbing in an ocean of frantic violins.

"Al Betekent Het Mijn Dood" is less a song and more a piece of diabolical dialogue, Van der Decken confronting his crew over a suspected mutiny in this irreverent piece of musical meets metal. "Departure Towards a Nautical Curse" plods along with grotesquely gleeful music, a fitting choice given this is the point where Van der Decken defies God and receives his eternal punishment. Its otherworldly synthesizers and its gargantuan riffs bolster its beautiful ending, a poignant piano melody embracing an ethereal guitar solo and more full-throttle metal. "The Course of a Spectral Ship" attacks with the fury of a typhoon, its percussion pounding like a torrential downpour and its riffs rolling over eardrums like towering waves.

All this sets up "The Shining was a Portent of Gloom," the album's grand finale. It features a delicate piano melody preparing the way for one last assault of pulverizing music. Epic and extreme, brass horns pair with the heaviness of crashing riffs and meandering solos, closing the proverbial curtain with a fantastic final act.

Death Came Through a Phantom Ship is a verifiable symphony for the devil and the devil always gets his due. Carach Angren's latest is magnificent and malicious, a well-crafted ghost story grafted onto a standout recording of 2010. It all makes for a grisly good time, courtesy of symphonic metal's latest sorcerers reigning supreme.

Tracklisting
Electronic Voice Phenomena
The Sighting is a Portent of Doom
And the Consequence Macabre
Van der Decken's Triumph
Bloodstains on the Captain's Log
Al Betekent Het Mijn Dood
Departure Towards a Nautical Curse
The Course of a Spectral Ship
The Shining was a Portent of Gloom