Initially formed from the ashes of Vehemence, Abigail Williams is a symphonic black/death metal act that now only features one former Vehemence member (guitarist Bjorn Dannov), but is no less of a quality act.Though some may try to label AW as metalcore with synths, this is certainly not the case as comparing AW to the synth laced ‘core like End of Destiny, Dead Blue Sky or End It All or others is simply unwarranted. AW do however remind me of other US bands Dreamscapes of The Perverse and The Funeral Pyre, who also share a love of Dimmu Borgir/Old Mans Child -ish dramatics, seething European guitar work and a mix of mid range blackish rasps and occasional clean croon.
That comparison being made, AW are a far tighter and vicious act, with at times a Dissection/Naglfar level of sheer melodic force as heard on the utterly blistering “Procession of the Aeons”, albeit flocked with synths. The other 4 tracks on the EP, while certainly less venomous and far more melodic and paced, still deliver polished, memorable symphonic and epic black/death metal that’s on par with their European peers (“Like Carrion Birds”, “The Conqueror Wyrm”, “Watchtower”), but does have hard to pin point “Americaness” that might be the reason for the unnecessary metalcore tag.
I’ll be interested to see if the revolving line-up hinders a band trying to make a name for themself, and being pushed pretty hard by Candlelight on their upcoming full length album which should feature all new material as this EP is a nice taster of quality material, and does seem to hint at something special.
