Texas’ finest occultists are here again after 2009’s enjoyable return from the void, and the confusingly-titled Abzu continues Proscriptor and co. onto what could well be a particularly vicious winning streak. And when I say vicious, I mean it; this is a full-on attack on the listener, a ripping thrash piledriver that explodes in technical riffs and drum patterns, ably backed by a black metal sensibility and darkly occult atmosphere. Less meandering and melodic than its predecessor, this is short, sharp, and sweet, Absu losing no time in reminding you of their black heart. Opening track Earth Ripper more than lives up to its name, like Melechesh on speed and armed with sharp knives. Guitarist Vis Crom riffs his heart out, but the real king of the show is Proscriptor himself, battering away at his drumkit and snarling lyrics like a man possessed. His interjected high-pitched screams add a euphoric glow to proceedings, and keep your spirits high through the melancholic brief instrumental meanders of Circles Of The Oath – not that the band ever slow down enough to be truly gloomy. This is all about the rush, the speed, the thrill.

And this thrill simply refuses to let up. The ripping thrash of the epic Abraxas Connectus carves a path of glorious destruction, topped by the wild soloing and blasphemous intensity of Skrying In The Spirit Vision, and then by the almost proggy meander of Ontologically, It Became Time & Space. No tracks on this album may have the sheer unpronounceable awesomeness of Absu’s In The Name Of Auebothiabathabaithobeuee, but all are utter killers. And by the time you’ve got to the epic multi-part finale A Song For Ea, in all its fourteen-minute long wonder, well. Upping the grandeur, upping the intensity, and upping the brilliance, Absu have created a monster of a metal track, driven by all the elements working in unison and mixing complexity and aggression in perfect harmony – united in their goal of destroying the listener’s neck muscles. It’s pretty clear the band still have what it takes.