I've been getting into Absu recently. They were always a band I thought sounded alright and was at one of their gigs some years ago which was cool, despite Proscriptor's sometimes silly onstage persona and his diamond headband and Madonna mic, which was all super fabulous and necro.
I picked up 'Tara' a coupe of weeks ago and was well impressed with the quality of songwriting so I bought 'Barathrum VITRIOL' which I've been listening to this morning and I might like even more... The utterly deadly production is working wonders for me. That mix of death metal riffs mixed with black metal pretentiousness is the business in this context.
Where do I go next with them?
Tara is a tremendous record, insane songwriting and drumming quality. Try not to speed on the car with 'Stone of Destiny' on!
You can't really go wrong with them. That 'Abzu' was ferocious.
If you are enjoying the sublime "Tara" then definitely finish of the Celtic trilogy of "The Third Storm of Cythrául" and "In the Eyes of Ioldánach" ep.
I'm not familar with the first two lps but I actually have the "Mythological Occult Metal: 1991-2001" compilation coming in the post to rectify.
Both "Absu" and "Abzu" are savage as well.
Eyes of Ioldánach is 4 songs of barnstorming heavy metal, definitely listen to that (although you'll know one of the songs from Tara). Great production too.
Absu has great songs but I always thought the production was a bit soft or something. Never felt like it had the bite of the other stuff.
Their last album Abzu rectifies the production though. Pity they never got to finish off that Absu/Abzu/Apzu trilogy.
Don't actually know the pre-Tara stuff overly well actually.
Cheers chaps. Looks like the quality is consistent across the board so I'll just dive in.
The Sun of Tiphareth is their best but you can't go wrong with any of the material. Anything after 'The Third Storm of Cythraul' is a bit more polished but still deadly. Reminds me of how the newer D666 albums sound, bit more advanced on the production side of things but still great songs.
Utterly savage band. Proscriptor's antics only add to the madness. Such an entertaining magick spastic.
They're one of those bands with a "nice" discography - it's a decent size without being overwhelming, there's a few distinct phases but they're all pretty close to their core sound and the quality is consistent throughout.
"Absu" is my favourite, it is pretty polished sounding but I think that fits with the mad bastard proggy freakouts on it.
Small word of warning about Tara if you're buying a CD of it - it has one of those shitty copy prevention features that unfortunately stops it from playing on a lot of CD players too.
The In the Eyes of Loldanach version of "Never Blow Out the Eastern Candle" should go in the "best drum intro" thread. Savage :abbath:
Quote from: Eoin McLove on May 15, 2020, 10:59:33 AM
I've been getting into Absu recently.
Seeing as you are exploring Absu / Melechesh at the moment, give Rudra from Singapore a spin. They are much more Death / Thrash than Black / Thrash but they incorporate their native instruments and singing / chanting into very well executed material. Brilliantly produced as well.
I remember checking them out years ago and they didn't do it for me. I'll see if what they are at works for me now.
Sun of Tiphareth is the best closely followed by the 3rd storm. If you like VITRIOL then you will like everything that's the only release that in my opinon is quite different from the rest.
For me the only album I don't really like is Abzu I seem to be in the minority on that. Thanks to that crying asshole that use to be in the band we won't ever get to see the third album in the trilogy some of us had been waiting almost a decade for it.
Absu are one of those bands were most people will give you a different answer as to which album they think is best which shows how great the discography is.
"The Third Storm..." is their best IMO, although I think "The Sun of Tipareth" is a close second.
You can check the pre Absu band DOLMEN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIKTK3su-v8
or MORBID SCREAM from which they played two covers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ihk3Hr0vT4o
Quote from: mickO))) on May 15, 2020, 02:45:39 PM
Sun of Tiphareth is the best closely followed by the 3rd storm. If you like VITRIOL then you will like everything that's the only release that in my opinon is quite different from the rest.
For me the only album I don't really like is Abzu I seem to be in the minority on that. Thanks to that crying asshole that use to be in the band we won't ever get to see the third album in the trilogy some of us had been waiting almost a decade for it.
Absu are one of those bands were most people will give you a different answer as to which album they think is best which shows how great the discography is.
What was the story there again? I remember someone had a sex change but why did it kill the band?
The person that had the sex change was asked to leave the band they claim it's because they had a sex change, Proscriptor says it was for other reasons. The person that got kicked out also wrote some of the music that was recorded for the upcoming album so I am guessing to avoid hassle from the usual suspects Proscriptor ended the band and now will not release the new album.
No matter what the reasoning was it is Proscriptors band he's put 20+ years of his life into it so I think he's earned the right to say who can and can't be a member. I think he handled the situation in the best way possible even though for me as a fan it's really shitty that I will both never see the band live again or hear the new album that I have been waiting so long for. It was one of those that has been coming... since around 2014 and was first announced just after the last album came out.
He is doing live vocals for Zemial now.
It was the Zemial link that sparked my interest in diving into Absu.
Pity that a band that was so long running fell apart over such bullshit. You'd wonder why Proscriptor didn't just scrap the album (or the half of it he didn't write) and restart from there.
Isn't he singing for Zemial? I imagine what's his name is still the sole creative force behind Zemial and Proscriptor seems to be a force for creativity in his own right so I wonder if it's only a matter of time before he reboots Absu or starts something new.
I am just speculating but I think maybe he was worried about getting shit in his personal life over what happened if Absu continued. The good guys at metal sucks did a few articles on it and he may have been worried about the scene police showing up at his place of work or calling his boss demanding he be fired. I have no idea what he does outside of music but I doubt he was able to live off Absu they weren't even a band that toured the majority of the year.
He is definitely one of the most talented people not only in black metal but in all of metal. One of the greatest drummers of all time as well. You probably know but he auditioned for Slayer back in 2001 they said they didn't ask him to join because his beliefs with magick and all that stuff were just way too out there even for them. But he says he was just used a ploy to get Dave back.
The crypt did a great series of boxsets for all the material up to and including Tara I have all of them and they turned out amazing. As far as I know only the VITRIOL one is hard to find these days so if you were interested in the others you should be able to track them down and if not the albums have been reissued many times as standard vinyl. I think even Osmose are doing a set of standard LPs right now.
Also if you get sucked into the lyrics the bands website the 77th novel has a glossary explaining all of the terms used in the lyrics in each song on each release they also came with each album. My vinyl aren't with me now so last year made a booklet out of the glossary from the website in work and now have a copy where I currently am as well. It really interesting stuff.
Yeah that call out culture is really frightening stuff. The bastard double edge of the internet sword.
I have been grabbing the CDs because Invictus has them in stock so I'll fire on with that. The booklet on 'Tara' is so thick I'm surprised they did a jewel case edition for it. It hardly fits into the box. Looks great, though, and I might have a gander at their website at some stage.
Absu are a class band, shame about the break up alright. Listening to them VITRIOL when I was in secondary school. That video they did a few years back is class, often give it a spin on a YouTube beer night
https://youtu.be/FZmt_Qmdy0w
and the ole Manannan video from the VHS era, who can forget that.
https://youtu.be/PY5mdWGDcN4
But don't miss their greatest song ever
https://youtu.be/bHeBw5R9wjI
Quote from: Eoin McLove on May 15, 2020, 09:54:06 PM
Yeah that call out culture is really frightening stuff. The bastard double edge of the internet sword.
I have been grabbing the CDs because Invictus has them in stock so I'll fire on with that. The booklet on 'Tara' is so thick I'm surprised they did a jewel case edition for it. It hardly fits into the box. Looks great, though, and I might have a gander at their website at some stage.
Dunno if its in the insleeve or if I read it elsewhere but Kris Verwimp claims to have taken soil from the Hill of Tara and mixed it in the ink he used for the cover.
Equitant recently opened up a shop selling all sorts of great Absu shirts, hoodies etc. best of all 99% of them have no backprints. I think I will place an order this week been thinking about it for a while. And shipping by US standards is very good.
https://blackmontanas.bigcartel.com/?fbclid=IwAR2FCgkhvzku8nsGhOPM7CFuV0-JTS7DriB6NcMCfQ97oHmEYOz98m6ErwY
He also posted this on youtube recently :laugh:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysOrFkK2BKQ&fbclid=IwAR3mGnlBmh966sa7f_TPKM4p0Mm8mtSFQJwz-2cZedq_xnhxHqDRicBuwrk
And here is one of the Slayer audition videos. Most people have probably already seen them many times before.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bd8YvaSaNqE&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3oc6SJyOkhFmjdxYdRN-Ep4Yg36v_4bItlt9Wy-C3myWIxwEZkpea2ghQ
The Barathrum VITRIOL design is tempting. Hmmm.
Mandatory listening :laugh:
Yet one seems out of her depth with Proscriptor.
Maybe the one who's now 'female' could team up with the dude from Liturgy (who recently came out as 'female') and create some truly interesting black metal?
I think we can all agree it's important for black metal musicians to have their finger on the pulse of the most important and pressing issues of the day- so we can only hope.
Haven't really heard their other stuff but that self titled album is awesome. Night Fire Canonization and Amy are crackers.
Tara is a great album.
Tara is easily their best album- it's one of the finest black/ thrash metal albums ever released.
cheers!
'Barathrum VITRIOL' on here now. Such a ferocious album.
Looks like the band is back with a slightly new name and have signed to Agonia records. New album out by the end of this year.
PROSCRIPTOR MCGOVERN'S APSÛ Signs With Agonia Records: New Album To Be Announced In Late 2020
Agonia Records today confirms the signing of the new, Texas-based "mythological occult metal" act Proscriptor McGovern's Apsû. The debut/self-titled album's release date is to be announced in the latter portion of 2020.
When drummer/vocalist Proscriptor (Russ R. Givens) dissolved Absu on January 27th 2020, his main intention was to splinter the 30-year old faction into a renewed songwriting concord. Proscriptor McGovern's Apsû is the obvious by-product of that chemical breakdown and securing the ranks is continuing bassist/vocalist Ezezu and new guitar virtuoso Vaggreaz.
Proscriptor says of the resurgence: "I want people to know that I disbanded Absu to form Proscriptor McGovern's Apsû with underpinning intention, despite the inclusion of my name, as an armorial bearing to pay tribute to the former sanctuary. I do not consider myself the band's leader, but more of an administrator. I may be an oppressive commissioner, but Proscriptor McGovern's Apsû is an equal, collective unit."
Proscriptor continues regarding the album's lyrical approach: "This album is written for those who are curious and unwearied in their quest of arcane knowledge. I have (with vast exertion and detriment of time and space) collected knowledge deemed, in regard to my subject theories of 'mythological occult metal:' from Thelemic Magick and The Zos Vel Thanatos Formula to Fractal Ontology and (obviously) Near East Mythology."
The album is being chronicled at studios around the world with final mixing being handled in Dallas, Texas by J.T. Longoria and mastering by Karl Daniel Lidén in Sweden. The album also features guest appearances from Vorskaath (Zemial), Ross Friedman (Ross The Boss), Jeff Becerra (Possessed), Rune Eriksen (Aura Noir/Vltimas), Alex Colin-Tocquaine (Agressor) and The Dark (Agatus). To assemble the album's packaging with ten separate portrait illustrations, the band has re-commissioned the expertise of renowned Polish artist Zbigniew Bielak.
Final track listing for "Proscriptor McGovern's Apsû" is:
I. Amenta: Accelerando: Azyn including Hierophantasmal Expounder
II. Esoterically Excoriating The Exoteric
III. Quasaric Pestilence
IV. Mirroracles
V. In-Betweeness Gateway Commuters
VI. Jupiter In Capricornus
VII. Dedicated To Thoth, But Azathoth Wasn't Listening (A Necroloquy)
VIII. Caliginous Whorl
IX. The Coagulating Respite
X. Prana: Therion: Akasha
XI. Tantrums Of Azag-Kkû
XII. Every Watchtower Within Is The Axis Of A Watchtower Without including Totemic Thresholds
PROSCRIPTOR MCGOVERN'S APSÛ is:
Proscriptor McGovern – Drums/Percussion, Lyricism, Maestro Echoplex, Papago Flute, (Analogue & Digital) Synthesizers & Voices (1st Person Protagonist)
Vaggreaz – Electric Lead, Rhythm & Acoustic Guitar (2nd Person Inquisitor)
Ezezû – Electric Bass Guitar, Implements & Voices (3rd Person Omniscient)
Good stuff. Contributions from Zemial and Agatus sounds promising.
absulutely great band
Nice one :)
Agonia really do have a lot of great bands on their roster.
Can't stand mentions of guest stars to build hype for an album, reminds me of Creations Tears. Definitely looking forward to this though.
Good to see him back. That self titled 2009 album is such a beauty
The 2009 album is one of my desert island discs, just an incredible album from start to finish.
Pretty hyped for this new jobby, although most of the guest appearances are meh (and Ross the 'Boss' can just fuck off altogether).
Quote from: mickO))) on July 17, 2020, 08:19:39 PM
Final track listing for "Proscriptor McGovern's Apsû" is:
I. Amenta: Accelerando: Azyn including Hierophantasmal Expounder
II. Esoterically Excoriating The Exoteric
III. Quasaric Pestilence
IV. Mirroracles
V. In-Betweeness Gateway Commuters
VI. Jupiter In Capricornus
VII. Dedicated To Thoth, But Azathoth Wasn't Listening (A Necroloquy)
VIII. Caliginous Whorl
IX. The Coagulating Respite
X. Prana: Therion: Akasha
XI. Tantrums Of Azag-Kkû
XII. Every Watchtower Within Is The Axis Of A Watchtower Without including Totemic Thresholds
XIII. Dismantling The Shadow Cabal By Means Of Cryptic Forbidden Arcane Knowledge Posted On A Music Forum But Deleting It Because It's Too Unsettling On Varying Levels Of Conscious Understanding (feat.Mugz)
The guest appearances has just been a thing since the band reformed. In most cases the guests are usually playing stuff that was written by band and not pieces they have come up with themselves.
Quote from: Eoin McLove on May 23, 2020, 09:41:24 AM
'Barathrum VITRIOL' on here now. Such a ferocious album.
Yep. Couldnt give a shite about anything after this but McGovern is entertaining to say the least. The Liberace of metal