Pothamus. Remember this name. With their second album “Abur”, the Belgian trio establishes a new milestone in the evolution of post-metal, with the birth of a new branch. And like every birth, it’s an incredibly beautiful one to witness.
The signs have been in front of our eyes for over ten years with their Toolesque, Eastern-sounding debut EP. From the early days, Pothamus has maintained a progressive craft, with slow but unstoppable build-ups over tribal rhythms and repetitive patterns, while letting listeners lose themselves in vaporous ambiance, explosive endings and an awakening agitated by inevitable spasms like the finale of a shamanic experience.
Pothamus offers an esoteric interpretation of post-metal from which you’ll feel the benefits, especially if you let yourself be carried away by the transcendental waves that envelop you as the sound roars through the speakers. Inspired by various currents but always respectful of the beings and spirits surrounding them, the band’s mythology pursues the connections between nature and humanity, a spirituality where mankind must understand that it exists only through Nature and the Cosmos. The trio set their vision to music, embracing chaos as a creative force so that this vital force endures eternally, like a timeless loop.
A veritable sonic introspection, “Abur” picks up where “Raya” left off five years earlier. But on this second effort, Pothamus has taken an impressive step forward in their songwriting by making their sound even more crushing, while alternating between incantatory chants and screamed vocals, reinforcing the dark unknown aspect of the territories they want to take us to.
Build-ups become more sinuous, making our path steeper and steeper, constantly adorned by pounding, hypnotic rhythms to keep us captivated from start to finish — as “Svartuum Avur”, its heartbeat-like tribal loop and vocal storm in duality with the acceleration and melody-driven vocals that deliver the last rites.
Each track reveals different aspects of the band in agitated, dangerous constructions connected by the same ambience. It harbors this reassuring way of enveloping us in their sonic universe, only to make it our own. At the end of the ritual, we emerge from a second state, stunned by what we’ve just lived and forever changed by the experience.
Pothamus fuel their music with metaphysics and give birth to a new musical variation, full of spiritual quests by breaking codes and writing its own path. Don’t be afraid to elevate your soul and open your chakras to musical greatness with “Abur”.
ARTIST: Pothamus
ALBUM: Abur
RELEASED: 14 February 2025
LABEL: Pelagic Records
MORE: Bandcamp
Last modified: 6 March 2025
