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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Relentless, furious achievement of black thrash perfection!, January 22, 2003
Well, like another reviewer for this CD noted, I wasn't expecting all that much when I picked up this CD. (And unlike another reviewer, this CD has NOTHING to do with all things gothic and/or COF... sheesh). I immensely enjoyed "The Sun of Tiphareth" back when it came out, but back then, in high school, I had a very limited budget and could only pick up a new metal CD every now and then, thus providing ample time to digest and absorb everything I got. Now, with a job and with money to spend, a lot of great CDs I buy get drowned out by those whose excellence is evident upon first listen. Given the repeated listenings required to have Tiphareth hit me, I expected the same with Cythraul and thus did not pick it up until recently. Christ on a stick, was that a mistake!Upon first listen, I could not help squealing with delight. I've only heard a few black thrash (black metal/ old skool thrash metal hybrid, for those who don't know) albums, Absu's second, some Bloodstorm, Sigh's first, and Impiety's "Skull-effing Armageddon" [yet to hear Aura Noir]) and this CD blows all of them way way way out of the water. While Tiphareth was mostly thick atmospherics (no cheeze, mind you) peppered quite profusely with driving thrashy moments, Cythraul is the opposite: brief moments of atmosphere, but mostly fast driving thrash attack that makes you want to bang your head, grab a sword and a case of beer, and go claim the pictish throne and rule with an iron fist. There is technical proficiency at every level; song strucutres are wonderfully fulfilling, changing when they need to, blasting away, slowing down, dropping to slight atmospherics, rocking out... whatever is needed. Production is thick and crunchy, with loud, bombastic, amazingly well-played drums and thrashy guitars, while still retaining that black metal quality of fuzziness and organicism so important to music coming from this tradition. The vocals.... oh, the vocals! So heartfelt, so emotional, whether it be vitriol, the glory of steel, or the demand of royal right. High-pitched shrieks and growls that really are smack in the middle of black metal and thrash. They are quite like the Tiphareth vocals but rawer and less afraid to be as expansive in their emotional landscape as possible. One thing I want to emphasize is how rythmically enjoyable this CD is. I DARE you to keep still while listening to this; it is above all things heavy frikking metal. Anyone who appreciates metal, of any type, should pick this up. If you hate black metal, don't be deterred by the references to such; this CD is black thrash, a completely different genre. BM fans, who realize where the Norwegian skool really takes its cues, will appreciate this homage to the drunken relentless attack of the ancient glory days of underground metal. (Though gothic poseurs who think they're metal heads might get scared away by the lack of gothic femininity; and "modern" bm fans might find that the production is not Tagtren enough for them, nor the melodies have enough songs in a 13/5time signature). Old skool enthusiasts will really dig this; if you fancy yourself as such and are disappointed with a lot of the new metal, underground or popular, that you heard, I implore you to give this a shot. It manages to combine so many disparate elements into a cohesive whole firmly rooted in headbanging, rocking metal metal metal metal. Sleek, fast, driving, relentless, relentless, relentless! (Dang! Now I feel like listening to this and I don't have it on me!) Indeed, this CD overall is much rawer than Tiphareth. It is much more old-school inspired, but in such a refreshing way that I have not encountered previously. The lyrical aesthetic [the lyrics are incredibly well-written] is as before, Celtic and Mesopotamian/Sumerian mythologies with an emphasis on the ethos of the warrior king. This is perfect for the mixture of headbanging and glory that the music epitomizes. I guess what I'm trying to say is, imagine all that pagan/Viking metal ethos of warriors and kings captured by music that makes you feel like it's 1983. Braveheart in black leather and spikes, basically, with an emphasis on enforcing tribalistic tyranny as opposed to resisting it. Like I said before, this CD is a much more metal and thrash oriented venture than Tiphareth. I regret having laid this band to the wayside for so many years, as I have not heard their much hailed Tara and thus cannot compare it to that work. Regardless, this CD is truly wonderful and I recommend it to all true fans of metal. A more preferable war-mongering tribalistic export from Texas than the one that's more popular 'round here these days...................
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~ Summoning
~ Burzum
is Absu's 
