Picked this demo up out of the free box at my sweet Local Record Shop, a few months ago and just got around to checking it out recently. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but was totally stoked to find out that it didn’t suck, and, in fact, ruled quite hard. Absum are a four-piece thrash/punk band hailing from CT. The three songs on this demo, an early promo for their debut 7”, call to mind thrash legends Suicidal Tendencies. The riffs are all blazing fast. There are some brief spots of guitar wankery and epic amounts of crew vocals sure to spawn massive sing-alongs live. I listened to this on repeat close to twenty times (not hard when the three songs on this clock in around five minutes) and didn’t get tired of it. While some of the riffage starts to feel repetitive, the creative use of gang vocals and sing-along parts helps keep all three of these songs interesting. The song “To Whom It May Consume,” is by far my favorite of the three, as it’s got the highest quantity of guitar wankery. Overall, this brief demo is a solid intro to Absum, and I’m stoked to check out their record.
–Paul J. Comeau (Absum, [email protected])