Abigail Williams – Walk Beyond the Dark
November 15th, 2019
Atmospheric Black Metal
Blood Music
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Abigail Williams is a band that holds a very special place in my heart for a multitude of reasons. When I was but a wee burgeoning metalhead they were one of the first black metal bands I was ever introduced to. Before getting deep into the style in later years thanks to my best friend introducing me to the genre’s greats (Burzum, Darkthrone, Immortal, etc.) I discovered Abigail Williams as I was still in my deathcore and djent phase. Their first album, In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns, while not a perfect record by any means, served as a more palatable introduction to the genre, albeit with more symphonic overtones, than the lo-fi evilness of the days of yore. I fell deeply in love with In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns, and little did my teenage poser heart know that Abigail Williams would lead me to true love later in life as myself and my eventual partner began officially dating on the metro ride home after an Abigail Williams show, a show in which we met and chatted with Ken Sorceron himself nonetheless. As such, Abigail Williams has become an unexpectedly important band in my own life, and while this event occurred while the band was still touring in support of 2015’s The Accuser, the band’s newest effort, Walk Beyond the Dark, leaves little to be desired because it delivers extravagantly on every front.
Abigail Williams has shifted sound significantly over the course of their career, beginning with symphonic black metal a la Dimmu Borgir and the like but with some elements of the metalcore and deathcore worlds bleeding in, to the more atmospheric and meditative sound that they adopted on Becoming and have further developed into their current incarnation. The groove and atmosphere are center stage on this record, especially on the track “Sun and Moon”, which feels like a true occult hymn in the way that the bass and drums lock together in these voodoo-esque patterns that infect your soul and make you want to move. However, it’s not all atmosphere. The track “Born of Nothing” explodes into a righteous cacophony of extreme blast beats and riffing right from the first note, reminding me more of the modern work of other longer-lived black metal acts such as Watain or Marduk than the atmospheric black metal titans such as Agalloch or Saor.
Sorceron proves himself to be a master of creating mournful and melancholic melodies once again on this release, as these seven songs elicit feelings of pain, suffering, loss and anguish coupled together with triumph, beauty and serenity. “Ever So Bold” takes twists and turns through some truly hypnotic chord progressions created through harmonized tremolo picked guitars and a ripping solo that paints a tragic visual in the listener’s head. We also get moments on here that veer more towards the modern trend of blackgaze, reminiscent of other bands such as Alcest, especially on the track “Black Waves”. Another fantastic solo on “The Final Failure” does well to illustrate just how much of an accomplished player Sorceron is. While any guitarist worth his or her salt can produce a solo, it takes a true talent to deliver one that is both suited to the music and emotive in its efficacy as opposed to simply showing off how fast one can shred.
The drumming on this record is absolutely on point. Of particular note is “Black Waves” in which session drummer Mike Heller lays down some mesmerizing fills and technical beats that aren’t common within this genre. Yet, despite the flashiness of Heller’s playing, he never oversteps his boundary. He knows how to keep things simple with the atmospheric mainstay of the hi-hat, snare and bass drum beat or move the extremity notch up with the genre-typical blast beats. But his usage of multiple techniques throughout this record makes the drums shine.
There’s no shortage of experimentation on this album either. The introduction of violins into the mix return the symphonic element to the band, but not in the overblown synth-laden context of earlier releases. Rather the violins add to the atmospheric storm-laden cloud that you find yourself enveloped within while listening to this record. There are moments where the bass truly gets a chance to shine, for example in the aforementioned track “Sun and Moon”, which is entirely unexpected for black metal. There are even parts on here, especially during the final track “The Final Failure”, in which Sorceron sings cleanly. While his voice is not perfect, the rawness with which he delivers this hymn adds to the emotional bombast of the chords and melodies.
As a side note I also want to point out that this record was released by the stellar cultivator of the extreme, the Finnish label Blood Music, who also released the band’s debut EP, Legend. You might recognize their name for being the label responsible for bringing artists like Perturbator and Carpenter Brut to the forefront of the metal world despite being electronic artists. The release of Walk Beyond the Dark by Blood Music just goes to show this label continues to be one of the best underground labels working in this genre today as they add killer release after killer release to their roster. I for one am happy that Abigail Williams have found a home with this label once again after releasing their previous four albums through the American label Candlelight Records.
Abigail Williams may have started off in the black metal genre on not necessarily the wrong foot, more like a cautious one, unsure of where it was stepping. But in the years since In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns, Sorceron has fully realized the sound of his pride and joy. Given that he has been the only consistent member of the band following their tumultuous early years, it wouldn’t be too far out of the realm of reason to refer to Abigail Williams as his solo project, barring the use of session musicians of course. Understanding this, Walk Beyond the Dark truly showcases his further progression into this style of atmospheric and mournful black metal with its own identity. This album ebbs and flows naturally through segments of delightfully saturnine ambrosia and bombardments of monumental aggression, taking the listener on a heavyhearted funereal journey through triumph and defeat. For a band that is as close to me as Abigail Williams is, I’m thoroughly pleased that they have knocked it out of the park in what might be their best album yet.
Favourite Tracks:
“I Will Depart”
“Sun and Moon”
“Born of Nothing”
Final Verdict: 9/10
Awesome
~ Akhenaten
Where Strides The Behemoth? 