Absu | ‘Mythological Occult Metal: 1991 - 2001′

Absu are a rare example of persistence, tenacity and a skewered brilliance that few other bands of their ilk can claim. The question as to whether they really merit a double cd retrospective however is an open one. They are band best enjoyed in short sharp doses for maximum effect, and as such the thought of wading through untold minutes of their demos, rarities, outtakes covers and live versions (phew) is something of a daunting one.

The fact that they just so happen to be one of those crimially underrated bands ignored for most of their career makes the pleasure all the more potent then, when hearing them scorch through renditions such as ‘Deathcrush’, which comes within half a human hair of bettering the original, and no mistake. Their different tones and growth over the years is notable, and having all this stuff together at once in the same place shows just how lethally proficient they became over the decade in question. Using their early mix of Mayhem, Possessed and Maiden to form a distinct and quite disassociated extreme metal band, they have since had few soundalikes and fewer real competitors.

Their delicious immersion in obscure mythos makes this underground collection more palatable still, and it’s a timely reminder in the era of promotion driven product-metal that the bands with something real to say will have been saying it all along through every fad and change of the wind. One for the completists and genre fans certainly, but Proscriptor’s warp speed drumming and their admirable musical isolationism will still impress anyone picking this up on a tip.

3.8 / 5 - Ciaran Tracey ::: 06/01/06