Artist: Absu
Label: Osmose Productions
Release Date: 1994
Rating: 5 Skulls
|
|
Title: The Sun of Tiphareth Artist: Absu Label: Osmose Productions Release Date: 1994 Rating: 5 Skulls |
|
|
|
||
Requiem's Review:
When picking my next classic review, I try to aim for a band that nobody's touched upon and a genre that hasn't been covered in a while. That brings me to the band Absu, who can most easily be categorized into the black metal genre. Brought together from the surprising U.S. soil (Texas to be exact), this band has finely crafted a musical style that they can call their own. Blackened thrash occult metal is what they generally dub it as, and it's one hell of a good time every god damned step of the way. Calling up a fave is a difficult task, but I'll zero in on their second album The Sun of Tiphareth.Absu are different from much of the competition lyrically, as they touch upon such bizarre subjects as Sumerian and Mesopotamian mythology and god knows what else. Mastermind Proscriptor is your host, as he concocts tales of otherworldly happenings, practically representing a foreign language to those who are not thoroughly schooled in the subject matter. But as Aerosmith told us time and time again, let the music do the talking. This brings us back to our man Proscriptor, who happens to be one of the finest drummers I've ever heard. Not that the riffs are bad, they are in fact tremendous in their own right. But Proscriptor's unique style somehow intertwines Billy Cobham's jazz moves with Dave Lomardo's intense metal interpretations. This unique and often snare-heavy style brings a new life to riffs that otherwise may get ruined by a half-assed drummer.
The music on The Sun of Tiphareth combines a definite thrash feel with the overall characteristics of a black metal band. The black metal could come to mind in response to the vocals, and the music itself gallops along to a frantic thrash meets jazz tempo. What they create as a band is so blasphemously original it's sickening. No band could ever genuinely duplicate what Absu is doing here. The band seem to follow their leader Proscriptor through his challenging and seemingly schizophrenic drum patterns. The music conjures visions of ancient times, full of battles and folklore. His vocals cover a range from black metal rasps to more King Diamond-esque high notes and the album also features some talented female operatic vocals as well. The album thrashes its way through everything, while stopping to take a breather on the Rygar (Nintendo game) sounding "Our Lust for Lunar Plains (Nox Luna Inlustris)."
To make a long story short, Absu do a fine job of putting an inventive spin on the extreme music genre both lyrically and musically. Any drum fan will probably salivate at the precise technical drum work of Proscriptor, and likewise should be impressed with the band's music overall. There are no rules here, and that's what is so great about it. Be prepared to take a trip into an ancient land that is graced by a soundtrack of finely crafted metal. Absu should be forever documented as one of the most important bands of their kind.
[- Metal Judgment Home -] [- Email Metal Judgment -]
©1999 Metal Judgment. All rights reserved.