[Cover photo credit to Céline Gladiné]

Belgian Psychedelic Sludge-Metal trio Pothamus have shared new single an video “Ykavus” taken from their second full-length album, Abur, set for release on February 14th, 2025 via Berlin’s Pelagic Records.

The “spiritual successor” to their 2020 debut Raya, Abur finds the band creating Heavy music that steers them further away from ordinary Post-Metal paths.

Abur sees Pothamus’ signature sound incorporating the Surpeti, a drone instrument originating from the Indian subcontinent, traditionally used for mantra singing, whilst drummer Van Hulle adds his voice in harmony with guitarist Coussens’. Musical contemporary and close friend Chiaran Verheyden (Psychonaut, Hippotraktor) recorded, mixed and mastered the album.

The song “Ykavus” is one of the heaviest on the album, with no guitars present and the “atmosphere of a sacred ritual.”

The song’s music video depicts artwork of Flemish environmental artist Will Beckers, known for his site specific installations and public artworks that “show a dialogue and relationship between culture, nature and the environment.”

Pothamus says about “Ykavus”:

We understand Ykavus as a ritual affirmation of the album’s central belief that Abur conveys: that all beings are deeply and profoundly entangled with one another and their environment. The lyrics differentiate between the profane (what we, as a social construct, consider valuable) and the sacred (what is truly valuable, deeper and true).

The lyrics as well as the central droning sound of the song encourage the listener to conceive of this song as a meditation, encouraging him/her moving beyond the illusion of an independent and enduring self. By transcending the belief in a separate self, one can cultivate a deeper understanding of the interconnected nature of existence and develop compassion and wisdom. We are not an island unto ourselves, but fundamentally connected to everything and everyone around us.