Abigail Williams – The Accuser (2015)

The on-again off-again Abigail Williams return after announcing their last break up, with yet another crushing release with “The Accuser”. Led by Ken Sorceron, this outfit is redefining US Black Metal with every release and they present their current case with eight intriguing songs filled with aggression and experimentation.

Opening with their brutal “Path of Broken Glass”, the band delivers a huge wall of sound in the first few minutes before going into some weird experimentation with multiple vocal styles and some super cool melodic passages. Not sounding like any other band from the USA, this track is a testament to the band’s creativity. Things continue somewhat normal with “The Cold Lines” and the first few minutes of “Of The Outer Darkness”, just before the mood gets dark and doomier, the perfect precursor a great rest of the song.

The experimentation returns with some cleaner and even Post-Rock-ish elements thrown into “Will, Wish and Desire”, making it very melancholic and intoxicating. After the perfectly balanced aggression and melancholy of the previous song, of course the band will return with some blistering Black Metal in “Godhead”. Things continue heavy for a while with “Forever Kingdom of Dirt” until the riffing style changes and the atmosphere totally flips.

As the release comes to a close, we have perhaps the most bizarre and yet brilliant track of them all: “Nuummite”. This song has a very dark atmosphere that slowly builds up to a Katatonia-esque melancholic piece that will leave you equally puzzled and equally excited about listening to it again. Overall, Abigail Williams has a lot left in the tank and we are glad they didn’t call it quits. With “The Accuser” the band pushes to redefine their style and completely bend the limits of Black Metal (and other genres). If you like creative music that is melodic, atmospheric, and brutal, look no further and pick up a copy of this.

Label: Candlelight Records USA

Release: October 30th, 2015

Genre: Black Metal

Country: USA