Occult Metal

"I still think that I'm projecting a vivid objective behind the band,” comments McGovern, drummer, arranger, vocalist, lyricist, and sole remaining original member of Absu.

“I think any musician can say that they're trying to create the perfect picture of what the band's projection is all about, and so I decided that I'm still trying to perceive that goal, and that's something that I've been trying to do since '89.”

Absu is a unique entity in the world of underground metal. The three-piece “try and concoct styles of black, death, thrash, traditional heavy metal and progressive music all combined into one unit”. McGovern believes that the band stands out against “the normal unit of extreme metal music on a universal basis”.

With six full-lengths alongside numerous splits and EPs, the calm, focused and almost emotionless voice of McGovern reveals that the band is aiming to release yet another full-length, the final of their self-titled-but-spelled-differently trilogy, in early 2015. “The next album is the third and concluding instalment of the trilogy - it's the Sumerian spelling of the band moniker. I decided some years ago that the three albums in the trilogy would primarily be related to and based on everything that is related to what Absu is all about. I refuse to name the last three albums with unique titles, as I simply wanted to name each one as Absu , the English spelling; Abzu, the Mesopotamian;and Apsu, which is the forthcoming album, but differentiated by their different cover designs. That's the objective so far.”

So what is Absu all about exactly? “On a lyrical basis I combine mythology, paranormal, and metaphysical related topics inside of the music of Absu, and when writing Absu's music I try to express my lyrical content and ideologies as vividly as possible. Absu's music is a formation of chaos and magick, because I believe I can change subjective experiences and objective realities, though some forms of chaos and magick can dispute the music and the lyrics. On a lyrical aspect, Absu's music is based on OTO - Ordo Templi Orientis, Hermetic Order of The Golden Dawn, Thelemic Magick, Enochian Magick, Tasseomancy and Necromancy, and also the adoration of Sumerian, Mesopotamian, Sumerian and Celtic mythology. So that's basically all the formations that make up the lyrics inside of Absu's music.”

Proscriptor confirms that thematically Absu will not be straying from the beaten path on Apsu, but that we can expect a slight musical sea-change.

“I will say on a musical basis that this album will be different from the previous albums in the discography, because we're striving for shorter songs. This album will have somewhere between 14 and 16 songs, versus the more epic type of songs that have been presented on previous Absu albums. We're striving for shorter songs, and more songs on this album, versus the longer songs that have been presented on our previous discography.”

Speaking on the subject of guitarist Vis Crom and bassist/co-vocalist Ezezu, Proscriptor says that “they pretty much compose all of the music, and I am the arranger. I have the final conclusive thought in all of the songwriting process and I'm also the chief lyricist. I'm the one who actually puts the golden lace on top of the songs and concludes them to make them perfect. That's what I strive for”.

Although the band doesn't appear to tour full-time, “everything is dedicated to Absu. That's it. We've basically broken away from tour agencies and everything is pretty much dedicated to doing it ourselves. We book our own shows, we manage the band… it's definitely full-time employment. Outside of that it's constant studying and memorising occult science, magick and mythology on a daily basis for myself, and for what I incorporate into the lyrical conceptions of Absu. Outside of that everything else is dedicated to the businesses and the musical writing of the music.

“As of maybe last year we decided as a unit to break away from second and third party endeavours to take everything on ourselves. Since last year we've been doing everything ourselves.”