Beats and yelling: Absu

The Temples of Offal/Return of the AncientsOut 10th June on ATMF (originally released in 1991) One often forgets that – along with the likes of Massacre and Napalm Death- Absu were another Trigger’s broom band. (That’s bands whose latest incarnation features none of their original members for any none UK readers). But with this latest issue of Absu’s first era we are presented with a stark reminder of how quickly many bands were dropping death metal in favour of a new direction around 1991-92, here nurtured by original members Equitant and Shaftiel along with then drummer Danny Benbow. This reissue remasters the original Absu demos, ‘Return of the Ancients’ and ‘The Temples of Offal’, along with studio rehearsals, essentially presenting several different versions of the same tracks for anyone desirous to peruse this material from multiple angles. Its utility will be limited to Absu obsessives and, as the scenes most significant act throughout the 90s, USBM scholars. As well as perhaps…