Absu

Absu grew out of Dolmen, a Dallas band started in 1989 by guitarists Shaftiel and Equitant Ifernain. After a brief spell under another name, the group settled on Absu in 1991 and recorded its first demos.

Drummer and vocalist Proscriptor McGovern joined after the 1992 EP The Temples of Offal. The debut album Barathrum: V.I.T.R.I.O.L. followed in 1993, and the band went on to work with the French label Osmose Productions. The Sun of Tiphareth (1995) and The Third Storm of Cythraul (1997) developed what the band called “mythological occult metal”, drawing on Mesopotamian and Celtic mythology.

Tara, a concept album built on Celtic legend, arrived in 2001 and is often cited as the band’s finest work. It was also the last album with Equitant, and in the years that followed the line-up fell apart and Proscriptor put Absu on hold.

Absu returned in 2007 with a new line-up and signed with Candlelight Records. The self-titled Absu came out in February 2009. Bassist and vocalist Ezezu had joined in October 2008, and the next album was recorded by a trio of Proscriptor, Ezezu and guitarist Vis Crom.

That trio recorded Abzu, released by Candlelight in October 2011. A short, fast record of about 36 minutes, it closes with the multi-part “A Song for Ea” and features guest lead guitar from Blasphemer.

In January 2020 Absu announced that the band had been dissolved after three decades. Later that year Proscriptor launched a new project, Proscriptor McGovern’s Apsû, with Ezezu remaining at his side.

Proscriptor later revived Absu, and in 2025 the band toured Europe to mark the 30th anniversary of The Sun of Tiphareth, with festival appearances and a run of club dates in December. No new studio album has been released since Abzu.