Absu – Abzu (2011) [Candlelight] // Grade: B

Back in 1990, the Plano, Texas trio Absu began compiling a healthy arsenal of death metal tracks which they compiled into five demos. Yes, five demos. When they were pleased with their sound, the dark lords said “It is good” and released Barathrum: V.I.T.R.I.O.L. in 1993. Now, almost 20 years later, the’ve put out six full lengths, including their newest, Abzu. A lot has changed since their early days. The band has morphed into a blackened thrash act and their sound has achieved numerous accolades. But just how good is Abzu?

Coming off 2009′s Absu, which is still a favorite of mine, this new album packs some cleverly-disguised punches. Aside from the jarring hair metal intro, “Earth Ripper” opens a chasm of mysticism and lore. The sound is very similar to their previous release and their hammering tremolo picking is addicting without being overbearing. Their two-stepped tempo chugs along, allowing “Circles of the Oath” enough momentum to explode in a fury of blast beats. This is Absu’s black metal sound at its finest and even though I prefer their music tinged with thrash, this is my favorite cut on the album.

For that circle pit thrash sound, queue up “Abraxas Connexus,” it’s still blackened but there’s obviously a huge thrash influence here. Much as Absu’s sound has evolved over time, this album shape shifts before you can register what is happening. This continues with “Skrying in the Spirit Vision,” evoking more of that mysticism they’ve been working so hard on. Absu isn’t known for their particularly long albums and with only “Ontologically, It Became Time & Space” and “A Song for Ea including” remaining, you might overlook the fact that the latter is a staggering 14 minutes long! The entire title is actually “A Song for Ea including: (a) E-A (b) A Myriad of Portals ( c) Third Tablet ( d) Warren of Imhullu ( e) The Waters – The Denizens ( f) E-A (Reprise).” Does that make sense?

To back track a bit, Absu was the first part of a new trilogy based on magick and occultism and Abzu is the follow up to that. That leaves one more album in the trilogy and Abzu sets it up to be one stellar release. While Abzu may not be as successful of an album as Absu was, there’s still hope. After all, what sequel is ever better than the original? It’s always the third release in a trilogy that saves the series right? We’ll have to wait another two years to find out if that holds true.

- Prolly