ABSU SHOULD BE MAKING AN “ABRAXAS CONNEXUS” TO SKELETONWITCH FANS

It’s rare that MS contributor Grim Kim chooses to heap praise upon bands the rest of actually know and love, but there it is, dangling like a big, juicy meatball: Absu’s Abzu as one of her picks for favorite albums of 2011 so far, as of August 10th, a full two months before its October 8 release. Our love for Absu is so great that your editors actually requested the privilege of premiering a new Absu track to the world but were rebuffed, told the band only wanted to release one full track before the album comes out and that track had already been doled out. Don’t say we never try hard for ya.

Well, our one taste of new Absu is now here. It’s called “Abraxas Connexus” and it’s streaming over at Pitchfork. And it was worth the wait. With songs this good and production this clear the Absdudes could have Skeletonwitch fans hopping onboard the wagon, and the timing is perfect given the latter’s pending new album. Sure, Absu have been a band for longer, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. Here’s Grim Kim back in August on their sound:

Absu exemplify USBM’s old school, the traditional and the esoteric, and stay true to their bloody roots. They worship the old gods, and have been around long enough to call them peers. Their latest album, Abzu, is an exercise in black thrash supremacy. Proscriptor’s still got it — not like that comes as any surprise.

Listen to “Abraxas Connexus” over at Pitchfork then come back here and tell us what you think in the comments. The record comes out on October 8th via Candlelight.

-VN