ABSU - Tara
May 29, 2001, 23 years ago
(Osmose)
Almost four years in the making, since their last full-length and about two and a half years after their In The Eyes Of Ioldanach EP, these Texan occult speed thrashers finally lash out their swords and steel for easily their best album to date. Their last album, Third Storm Of Cythraul was definitely the much-needed step up from its predecessor but with Tara, no matter how good Third Storm was, this is a whole new ball game. Production and sound-wise, it's much beyond anything they have ever achieved as the band's talent shines through like never before. And surprisingly, their brand of uniquely crafted occult/thrash metal contains some finely tuned musical sequences; the listener can either marvel over technicality and fast picking or at the same time, bang heads in metal glory. Proscriptor's drumming has given a new meaning to the term whirlwind execution, along with the slightly noticeable '70s progressive influence, which is a very sublime undercurrent within this exhibit. And let's not forget the traditional Absu elements that boil everything down within this tornado of abstract madness. As for Absu being part of this retro-thrash metal movement, well they have too much class and sophistication for that, and lyrically it may be pretty tough to follow Proscriptor's many concepts, although at least this time he includes four pages of definitions in the booklet to the many terms and names within his world. If that'll help...
