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Abigail Williams: Legend
 Legend is the debut EP from Arizona's Abigail Williams, a fascinating band that merges Nordic black metal, Gothenburg styled melodic death metal, and US metalcore, all into one cohesive sound. There are only five tracks on this EP (Candlelight Records) but a full-length is in the works, with James Murphy (Death/Testament) at the production helm. Overall Legend is pretty impressive stuff, despite the obvious Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, and Old Man's Child comparisons. What you can expect are plenty of symphonic keyboard soundscapes, wailing black metal styled vocals (the singer is almost a dead ringer for Dani Filth) furious death metal riffs and well as metalcore breakdowns, and rampaging blast beats. Blackcore you say? Well, perhaps, but despite what you want to call Abigail Williams, the recipe works. Highlight songs here include the extreme Nordic sounds of "Watctower", the maniacal "Procession of the Aeons" (listen to those stunning "speed of sound" blast beats!!!), the symphonic black metal of "Like Carrion Birds", and the progressive "The Conqueror Wyrm", a song that features intricate arrangements and gorgeous keyboard passages.
With a tour underway opening up for Enslaved and Dark Funeral, Abigal Williams is playing in front of the perfect audience and should be ready to play with the heavy hitters of the black metal scene when they have their full length CD ready in the near future. In the meantime, check these guys out live, and dive into these five exciting extreme metal songs. Look for big things from this band in the not too distant future.
Track Listing
1) From a Buried Heart
2) Like Carrion Birds
3) The Conqueror Wyrm
4) Watchtower
5) Procession of the Aeons
Added: January 25th 2007
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score: 
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 5776
Language: english
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Abigail Williams: Legend
Posted by Ken Pierce, SoT Staff Writer on 2007-01-25 14:49:24
My Score:
Rising from the sands of Phoenix, Arizona come Abigail Williams, who on their impressive 5-song EP showcase a level of Metal intensity that one expects more from the European providers than from any band that has formed in the States. My reason for saying this is based on the bands use and skillful blending of traditional Norwegian Black Metal, twists of Swedish Gothenburg and the blistering intensity of Hardcore that is often found in the US's own export - Metalcore. All these styles together might sound weird to you yet the band makes it work and shows just how exciting the results can be when these are mixed together with some sense of purpose. Singer Ken Sorceron growls his way through the EP like a maniacal cross between Dani Filth and Shagrath and perhaps this is what gets them compared to the likes of Cradle Of Filth and Dimmu Borgir on opener "From A Buried Heart". I have to say that the drumming led me to think more of Dark Tranquility and the overall musical presence on the recording while Black and Extreme lends a lot of its appeal in the Gothenburg aspect. Guitars are handled by Brad Riffs and Elias in on the drums and unrelenting. There is effective use of keyboards by a young lady named Ellyllon and her input successfully kicks this up a notch for the group by their holding a very classical and majestic base on the tracks where the instrument comes off as most prevalent ("Like Carrion Birds" and "The Conqueror Wyrm" specifically). I was glad to hear Ken and company sing with some clean vocals as well and hope this is used more going forward as the genre is changing and finding more place for the dual vocals in the mix nowadays. Perhaps their coming full-length album will find the lovely Ellyllon offering some vocal support and give this band an added push in terms of dynamic and possibility.
There is a healthy amount of promise in this band if this EP is any sign of what else they have in store for us as Metal legions. It's a solid and throttling piece of music that should scare other newcomers into raising their own game. As the newest signing to Candlelight Records they have joined on to the long anticipated Dark Funeral/Enslaved tour and this should expose them to an audience than most bands this new would never have the luxury of being a part of. Good luck Abigail Williams, now show us what else you can do.
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Abigail Williams: Legend
Posted by Hugh Dark on 2007-03-13 14:31:22
My Score:
I heard the single and it peaked my interest just enough to seek out listening to this in the store, but I never took it home. I believe the C.O.F. comparison is right on. The whole grandiose, symphonic-element has worn thin. I cant even watch a movie anymore without thinking that is where some of these guys are stealing their sounds. The band has average playing skills in todays world and maybe that will change in the future. This is certainly not as bad as some of the others on the whole extreme scene, but your money could be laide in better places.
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