Abigail Williams

Abigail Williams stirred up some buzz in 2007 with the release of their Legend EP but before long, it looked like the band were finished. Now back with a revamped line-up, their first full-length album and the endorsement of metal heavyweights James Murphy (ex-Obituary, Death, Testament) and Trym Torson (Emperor/Zyklon), the band are giving symphonic black metal another go. There’s nothing ambient, primordial or even lo-fi about In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns. The record overflows with elaborate keyboard work, machinegun guitars and percussion, and eviscerating, blackened vocals, although the blistering rage fades into blackened goth during the final track. Dragonlord might be their closest American counterpart but Abigail Williams clearly draw most of their inspiration from the European, especially Scandinavian, scene, though they inflect the epic European sound with an American accent. They translate the genre well but not well enough to stand clear of their influences’ shadows.