So mark up another win for black metal’s brightest spot right now. A brutal dose of thrashy riffing that makes you want to headbang and then leaves quickly enough that you want more is always preferable to a record that you can’t finish. While some might complain about the length, I actually think that a 36 minute record is preferable to a 56 minute one and Abzu makes this point perfectly. How these guys continue to just nail it out of the park time and time again is actually pretty impressive to me. It’s got all the thrashy post- Tara riffing and song construction that you want, with all the extremity and esoteric lyrics you could possibly want. To be honest, I don’t have really much more to say except that this record is awesome. They’re most noticeable in the march sections of the epic 15 minute “Song for Ea,” and the down moments accentuate the rawness of the riffs and feeling. The use of keyboards here is subtle, laying out simple beds for the riffs and the tortured vocals to rest on. The riffs on here are addictive and the feel is out of this world and over-the-top.Īctually, if I were to draw correlations to other records, this one kind of reminds of me of the breakneck speed of Reign in Blood and Marduk’s Panzer Division Marduk, but with a lot more variation and, dare I say it… pizazz.
While Absu felt long and never quite drew me in, Abzu is a ball-busting thrashfest that only pulls up for moments to wow the listener with some rad acoustic work (“Circles of the Oath). ABZU, the serene and meditative underwater exploration game, is reviewed by Scott Butterworth.Read Scotts in-depth review at. While the band may be maintaining their general form and function that they’ve had since it’s other opus Tara, they bring a level of extremity to their game that is remarkably refreshing. Case in point? The heavily thrash-influenced Absu just put out another new record, and not only do they defy the black metal genre as a whole, they’re actively working to redefine it in a way that is much more palatable to my Angry Metal Taste Buds.Ībzu, the unfortunately named follow up to 2009s self-titled opus Absu, feels like a different record than its predecessor. Of course, one shouldn’t draw such broad generalizations, because then you’ll end up posting a review that disproves the whole thesis of said generalization (this is not to say that he’s wrong, by the way, he was oh-so-right. The whole shit has long been, in my opinion, a conservative and copycat genre which has generated little new or of note since at least the early 2000s, with its glory years being firmly rooted in the mid-to-late 90s. While the fable-like structure means that it reveals itself subtly and at a satisfying pace, it never says anything particularly original or surprising – a shame, given how fresh the rest of the game feels.Recently here on Angry Metal Guy, Steel Druhm took black metal as a genre to task for, frankly, sucking. Told through ancient wall paintings and hieroglyphs, the narrative explores humankind's relationship with the natural world, and the way technology has influenced this relationship. Tying all of these elements together is the aforementioned story, which is unfortunately the title's only misstep.
Much like the marine life littered throughout the game, the score pulses with energy, never settling on any single theme or emotion. Underscoring this lush soundscape is an equally lush soundtrack, composed by the ever-brilliant Austin Wintory. These understated sound effects serve to further cement the consistency and intricacy of the world. Reactive and uncomplicated graphics, combined with a focus on colour and light, mean that there's boundless joy to be found in simply stopping for a gander.Īnd as you sit and stare, you're treated to some of the most intricate and beautiful sound design in recent memory: the pops and squeaks of deep-sea creatures, the guttural and breathy rush of underwater currents, the dull hum of diving equipment. This liveliness has a lot to do with the way developer Giant Squid has presented its underwater world. This may be a simulated ecosystem, but it feels just as awe-inspiring and alive as the real thing. The way you cling to the side of larger fish – controlling their movements, and watching as they devour the weaker, more vulnerable creatures. The way sand splutters and coughs as you pass over it. The way schools of fish heave as you swim through them. It's in the way its submerged forests surge with life. Indeed, there's something uniquely magical about ABZÛ's underwater playgrounds something mythical and hard to pin down. This structure may sound an awful lot like another popular PlayStation exclusive you may have played, but rest assured, this aquatic indie carves its own identity. Finally, there is a story to be slowly unearthed, as well as some basic puzzles to be solved.