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Reviews
Absu: The third storm of Cythraul
17/03/08 || Global Domination
Absu is, in my not-so-humble opinion, the most relevant, seminal American black metal band. There’s some newer outfits that are making decent music nowadays hailing from these shores, don’t get me wrong, but you know what? The amount of crap composed under the black metal moniker this side of the ocean could fill a few oil tankers with free-floating, mucky excrement. Absu, which curiously enough is the name for an underground ocean in Sumerian mythology, managed to navigate the shit-infested seas of American black metal without sinking into the doo-doo depths during their distinguished career.
“The Third Storm of Cythraul”, released in 1997, was the band’s third full-length effort, and the first in their Celtic-influenced trilogy. The first trilogy had Sumerian influences, so they say. Rather pretentious, huh? But their compositions always fairly reflected these claims, so I’d say the band could actually deliver on their promises. Absu stands out from the hordes of their contemporaries thanks to the variety and dynamism of their songwriting, and the inherent weirdness of their overall sound, which I find unmistakable. This is a band that’s instantly recognizable, and the same can’t be said of many others within the genre. Lyrically speaking, they were fucken “out there” too, and not without reason did they label themselves “mythological occult metal”. It can be seen that great care was put into composing and writing these songs.
Barring the mandatory folksy, acoustic guitar intro and some classy, noodling interludes, this record is basically an abrasive affair, assaulting the listener’s sensibilities with a mixture of razor-sharp blackened thrash riffing, a dual attack of rasping vocals, and some badass drumming. The riffs and solos are chaotic, a throwback to the 80’s Germanic style of thrash, yet infused with black metal speed. Most of the guitar lines are quite catchy and epic, carrying malignant, esoteric vibes. Proscriptor and Shaftiel snarl viciously, trading off to a nicely sequenced effect in many tracks. They go overboard on the odd occasion though, specially Proscriptor, whom sometimes sounds like a fucken joker or jack-in-the-box.
Now, Proscriptor the drummer is a case apart. Almost unrivaled in the black metal genre, and one of the most accomplished and exciting drummers I’ve ever heard by far. Absu’s signature is Proscriptor blasting away like there’s no tomorrow, pulling off all kinds of fills and seamless tempo changes. His kicking technique is particularly impressive. I’ll be the first to admit I’m no expert on the topic, yet he sounds fucken flawless and inventive at all times. Scary as it may sound, Proscriptor’s drumming has gotten even better nowadays, as it can be appreciated on his work on later Absu records, or on his excellent work in Melechesh. Clearly a most talented drummer this guy is! (Shit, this last sentence came out in Yoda-speech, fuck me!)
“The Third Storm of Cythraul” is a kickass experience, close to the best that American black metal has to offer, and possibly surpassed only by output from Absu themselves. Some of the best songs the band ever wrote are here, such as “Highland Tyrant Attack”, “Customs of Tasseomancy” and “...Of Celtic Fire We Are Born”. Truly murderous, aggressive speedfests like “A Magician’s Lapis-Lazuli”, “Swords and Leather” and “The Winter Zephyr” should also please most unwary listeners without difficulty. A great record from a very interesting and vastly underrated band. Many of the so-called black metal bands on our side of the Atlantic and some on the other side would do well to borrow from it and the rest of Absu’s legacy. It’s a good thing that Proscriptor recently resurrected the band. I for one, will be awaiting eagerly the next chapter from the occult metal masters.
8 Celtic occultist black metallers out of 10.
- Information
- Released: 1997
- Label: Osmose Productions
- Website: www.absu.us
- Band
- Shaftiel: lead and acoustic guitars, bass, vocals
- Equitant Infernain: lead guitars, bass
- Proscriptor McGovern: drums, vocals
- Tracklist
- 01. Prelusion to Cythraul / ...And Shineth Unto the Cold Cometh
- 02. Highland Tyrant Attack
- 03. A Magician’s Lapis-Lazuli
- 04. Swords and Leather
- 05. The Winter Zephyr (...Within Kingdoms of Mist)
- 06. Morbid Scream (Morbid Scream cover)
- 07. Customs of Tasseomancy (Quoth the Sky, Nevermore) Act I
- 08. Intelligence Towards the Crown
- 09. ...Of Celtic Fire We Are Born/ Terminus (...In the Eyes of Ioldanach)
- 10. Akhera Goiti – Akhera Beiti (One Black Opalith for Tomorrow) (Bonus track)