ABSU Barathrum VITRIOL CD (1993)

Before occult black metal became a genre tick-box, Absu were already deep in the grimoire. Barathrum: V.I.T.R.I.O.L. landed in 1993 out of Texas with the kind of mythological density that made most of their peers look like they'd skimmed the Wikipedia page on Sumerian cosmology.

This is the record that put Absu on the map for anyone paying attention to the American black/thrash underground. The riffs hit like early Destruction filtered through Lovecraft and ancient Near Eastern mysticism, and Proscriptor McGovern's drumming is genuinely unhinged in the best possible way. If you've ever wondered what it sounds like when a band treats occultism as rigorous scholarship rather than aesthetic posturing, this is your answer. Essential for fans of the darker, weirder end of the metal spectrum.

CD, 1993. Standard jewel case.

Fans of: Gospel of the Horns, Archgoat, Aura Noir, Necromantia, Inquisition