Album Review: Pothamus - Abur
Reviewed by Dan Barnes
Following up their 2020 Raya debut, Belgian three-piece, Pothamus, deliver another six contemplative and cathartic compositions in the form of the sophomore full-length, Abur.
Taking inspiration from the likes of Amenra and Wardruna, Pothamus have been in pursuit of the ineffable, the esoteric, the transcendental since their inception in 2013 and Abur could well be proof-positive that they have located the path to whatever it is they seek.
Zhikarta being this forty-four minute journey with a slow, sustained chord and a singular drumbeat; at first it could be the soundtrack to an as yet unrealised sci-fi project, until the fat, post metal guitars arrive and shatter the illusion. Messrs Van Hulle, Lombarts and Coussens ground Zhikarta at this moment, positioning the vocals low in the mix until they are barely more than a whisper, reducing their import in relation to the instrumentation.
Great swells of music wash from the speakers, and as the rhythm section acts as anchor, the guitar parts take flight, signifying this to be the first part of a journey that will encompass the entire record.
Ravus follows on, with fat percussion and a more prominent presence shown through a harsher sound. Yet the militaristic drums and raw vocals are in competition with the undeniable folk elements underpinning the tune, an ethereal voice seeks to countermand the guttural screams.
Lead single Savartuum Avur was the first written of Abur’s tracks and is very much the standard bearer for whole of the album. It’s not Abur’s longest tune but it is where all the ideas offered by Pothamus coalesce into a perfect whole. The unusual opening beat is both uplifting and otherworldly, and the constant clashing of the heavy rhythmic elements with the fragile and, almost, ephemeral give a primal sense that we are hearing a moment of creation, both violent and beautiful.
Up to the mid-point it’s a slow, deliberate movement, until the post-metal elements surge to the fore and the chaotic generative forces take hold. This is an idea again seen in the epic closing title track, a fifteen-minute widescreen soundscape that shows the band in complete control of their ideas and their journey. To me, for all Abur’s grandeur and scope, Savartuum Avur manages to achieve the same thing in about half the time.
Abur, the album, is a voyage of discovery, as equally important to the internal and spiritual as it is to the external. After Ravus comes the short passage, De Varium: a slow and deliberate hum makes as for folk-vibes and a quiet vocal that could be a religious invocation. Whereas Ykavus rejects entirely the use of guitars, opting instead for a surpeti to produce the slow, meditative mood of the piece.
There’s the definite feel of Seventies Prog on this one, or the vibes of a Tool interlude, and it’s the closest Abur comes to manifesting the spirits of the elders through pure meditation.
I listened to the album in the car to begin with and found it an enjoyable experience; but it was when I listened to it through headphones and without distraction, that the secrets of Pothamus’ work began to find form. Subsequent listens have further allowed me to begin to follow the band’s journey to whatever enlightenment may be lurking at the end of this particular odyssey.
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