Absu Feature Interview    By Steve Jones

Absu have slowly carved a mystic rune into the aesthetics of black metal. We sent Steve Jones to find out more...

While genres come and go, black metal has hung in there. And unlike other music spawned in Scandinavia, like folk metal and melodic death metal, its migration from there to other corners of the world actually seen a diversification in outlook and expression that should be pleasing to any serious music fan: Australia have vomited forth Portal, while in France there are legions of black metal bands so underground that in a state of quantum quandary they deny their own existence. And America, despite being leaders not followers, have led the way of late, with Wolves In The Throne Room becoming one of the ‘must have’ acts for all lovers of dark pagan psychedelica. And now bouncing back into the frame is Absu (although they’re not strictly black metal – more on that later). Having recently released ‘Abzu’, the follow-up to 2009’s ‘Absu’, they’re gearing up to another tour to support the second release of this trilogy. Truly, there is no rest for the wicked!

Speaking of the conception of the record, it’s clear that drummer, lyricist and overall band leader Proscriptor McGovern has a complete concept and execution for this trilogy being carried around in his head. “The trilogy, which consists of the last album [‘Absu’], the new album [‘Abzu’] and the next album [‘Apsu’] is a mere perception, but ‘Abzu’ is not a concept album – it is a collection of theorems, which ties into both pieces of artwork which represents the album. The CD cover is basically a continuation from the last, self-titled album. The Abzu is Enki's shrine and the temple in Eridu; a mythical place where life influencing powers reside and the results are incomprehensible, unfathomable and secretive; a place producing raw materials. The Elder Sigil produces such ambiguities placed in the centre of the main pillar. The vinyl cover contains an interpretation of the Emerald Tablet of Hermes because it stimulates right brain responses and arouses intuition, imagination and insight.”

Phew. Hefty stuff there – a long chat with influences leads to a terrifyingly polysyllabic list – but then, this is typical for a man who writes according to the whim of inspiration: “It usually fluctuates between both intellectual sensations. If I randomly have a thought or idea, I will cease that particular activity to document my idea(s): both musically and lyrically. For example, when I was composing the lyrics for our newest album, my ideas kept multiplying, which then created new themes for the next album and I find this as a routine formula.” And this is more than likely the reason why Absu’s output is not classed, by it’s creator, as black metal. A casual listen to ‘Absu’ will tell you there’s a lot more under the hood, and snippets of ‘Abzu’ promise much the name: it’s still gloriously scuzzy and nasty and spiky, but quite unlike the avant-garde ambience of their Pacfic North-West cousins in Wolves In The Throne Room. Instead, Absu mixes together all the elements of black, death, thrash, speed and progressive into what our mainman calls “mythological occult metal”. And with what Soundshock has heard, the middle part of the trilogy will live up to the legacy and grandiose concepts Proscriptor McGovern has outlined – and quite an achievement considering the scattered status of the musicians that make up Absu, the entire album was written by members chucking around files together, only coming together for the actual recording sessions. It would be a shame if “prematurely speaking, ‘Apsu’ may very well be the last ABSU album”, as McGovern puts it. With such an imagination though, they doesn’t seem much danger of that.
 

Feature by Steve Jones