Absu | ‘Tara’
I hate to put you through this all again, but I may as well point it out early in the review: this albums prime sonic talking point is its Slayer quotient. It seems that so many bands these days are taking their masters’ forumla, if not their very riffs, and brutalling them up to acheive excellent warp speed techy, heavy metal.
Absu have been plugging away at their brutal and underground black metal for nearly ten years at this point, and although only having come into contact with their earlier material, its good to see that someone gives a damn for this style of music, especially in America. For those of you unfamiliar with them, this Texan band think they are scots-celtic, complete with bagpipes and kilts, and purvey a killer blend of raw and brutal black metal of the most wholesome subterranean variety.
This release sees them expanding upon their existing mystical / pagan philosophy… Ill allow Osmose to tell you more: “As ABSU balances a collation between tyranny, puissance, alchemical science, and magick, TARA presents a chronicled assembly dividing this exhibition into two phases: IOLDANACH’S PEDAGOGY and THE CYTHRAUL KLAN’S SCRUTINY. Everyone Else Dies!” which basically means that the cd is divided in two thematically, because the music remains the same.
The production is raw in the best way : not Darkthrone raw, but not over produced like so much modern metal. This is especially apparent in the drum department, which seems to have captured the resonance and vibe of the whole kit (listen to the Gathering for how this is done) instead of a load of seperated elements (anything from Abyss). The guitar tone is wierd as well, sort of cardboard in timbre with no effects used, which leaves the guitarist quite naked save for his fig leaf of skill.
The instrumental interplay is pleasing to listen to as they seem to feed off each other… listen to the succinctly titled “The Cognate House of Courtly Witches Lies West of County Meath” and wonder as wave after wave of brutal riffs coalesce with the pounding drums to produce an effect reminiscent of Angelcorpse or Enslaved. “She Cries the Quiet Lake” is a brilliant, fast, thrashy track with a great hook, vocals rotating through both speakers to truly fuck up your head.
It has a sort of celtic-ish beat to it, like a reel, showing good dynamic and thoughtful structure. This cd is on the whole eminently pleasing to listen to what with the more mainstream black metal having been completely deprived of its masculinity of late, so if you like Slayer and you like brutal BM, do yourself a favour and pick it up. The only reason it isnt getting a higher mark is because some of the riffs have been pinched straight out of you know what.
3.7 / 5 - Earl Grey ::: 17/6/01