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| Artwork by Mariusz Lewandowski |
The enigmatic extreme metal collective that is Abigail Williams once again marshals forces to produce a fifth, and likely their most blistering, full-length recording yet. Walk Beyond the Dark, has been released on the group’s new label, Blood Music of Finland.
Championed by lead guitarist, vocalist, and primary composer Ken Sorceron, Abigail Williams’ new recording delivers a massive dose of rage-tinged pathos. The seven-track album spins a glistening narrative with themes of despair, longing, and destruction. Prepare for songs like “Black Waves” to tear your heart out and hand it back to you -- still beating. Brace yourself to be swept away by songs like “Born of Nothing,” which harkens back to the most unforgiving sections of the group’s 2012 offering, Becoming.
I reached out to Ken to talk about the album’s creation in detail. He composed most of the songs on Walk Beyond the Dark during the last five years in between contributing his talents to other musical endeavors, such as Cobalt, The Faceless, and Lord Mantis. Some of the songs reflect the black metal intensity derived from the places where he’s been spending much of his time: the otherworldly beauty found in the Pacific Northwest and the arid desolation experienced in the Texan outback.
I wrote all the songs except “The Final Failure,” which was a song that Ian Jekelis (Aborted) brought to the table back in 2014 when he was in the band. It morphed into what it is now after I fucked with it for years.
The everchanging lineups for Abigail Williams have always featured some of the most phenomenally talented musicians around. Joining Sorceron this time are drummer Mike Heller (Fear Factory, Malignancy,, Raven); bass player Bryan O’Sullivan (Altar of Plagues, Mortichina), and classically trained cellist Christopher “Kakophonix” Brown (ex-Empyrean Throne, Hvile I Kaos). Not since the album Becoming have the talents of a cellist been featured so prominently. In addition, Justin McKinney (ex-The Faceless) provides a guest guitar solo on the track “Ever So Bold.”
Unlike The Accuser (2015), which included guest vocals from Neill Jameson (Krieg) and Charlie Fell (Lord Mantis, Cobalt), Walk Beyond the Dark features Sorceron singing every tune. Listeners may be surprised at the fair amount of clean vocals employed here, but they don’t overpower the riffage.
Recording for Walk Beyond the Dark took place in Washington, New York, and Dublin, Ireland. Mixing and mastering were accomplished by Lasse Lammert of LSD Studio in Lübeck, Germany. Where the last two albums demonstrated a transition and maturation of the group’s sound, could one say that Walk Beyond the Dark most closely represents the Abigail Williams’ sound? Ken seems to think so.
It really has elements of all four previous albums in my opinion, so in that regard it’s the most ‘Abigail Williams’ sounding album to date. I think it’s a good culmination of everything I’ve done. All those sounds come together to create this album. The production is top notch while still retaining raw qualities. It’s dreamy and atmospheric when it needs to be and punchy and clinical when the song calls for it.
Like the master craftsman that he is, Ken never expresses complete satisfaction with anything he’s accomplished, and the evolution of Abigail Williams is no different. As a musician, he says, he’s
gotten shittier at some things but better at others. I’ve stopped listening to other bands, for the most part, and I’ve just been doing my own thing.
Has Abigail Williams attained its final form? Not likely. For now, Walk Beyond the Dark presents fans with the most accurate snapshot of the level of excellence that American black metal can achieve today. I am pretty sure this will be my album of the year or at least close to the top.