Abigail Williams - In The Shadow Of A Thousand Suns
| Release date: | 28 October 2008 |
| Style: | Symphonic black metal |
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Owners: |
162 have it 8 want it |
Disc I
01. I
02. The World Beyond
03. Acolytes
04. A Thousand Suns
05. Into The Ashes
06. Smoke And Mirrors
07. A Semblance Of Life
08. Empyrean: Into The Cold Wastes
09. Floods
10. The Departure
11. From A Buried Heart [Japanese bonus]
12. Like Carrion Birds [Japanese bonus]
13. The Conqueror Wyrm [Japanese bonus]
14. Watchtower [Japanese bonus]
15. Procession Of The Aeons [Japanese bonus] [demo]
Disc II [deluxe edition]
01. I Am (God) [demo]
02. In Death Comes The Great Silence [demo]
03. Waiting For The Rain [demo]
04. Infernal Divide [demo]
05. Floods [demo]
+ Into The Ashes [video]
01. I
02. The World Beyond
03. Acolytes
04. A Thousand Suns
05. Into The Ashes
06. Smoke And Mirrors
07. A Semblance Of Life
08. Empyrean: Into The Cold Wastes
09. Floods
10. The Departure
11. From A Buried Heart [Japanese bonus]
12. Like Carrion Birds [Japanese bonus]
13. The Conqueror Wyrm [Japanese bonus]
14. Watchtower [Japanese bonus]
15. Procession Of The Aeons [Japanese bonus] [demo]
Disc II [deluxe edition]
01. I Am (God) [demo]
02. In Death Comes The Great Silence [demo]
03. Waiting For The Rain [demo]
04. Infernal Divide [demo]
05. Floods [demo]
+ Into The Ashes [video]
Guest review
Lyrics Ken Sorceron - vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards (track 6)
Ashley "Ellyllon" Jurgemeyer - piano, synths, orchestrations
Sam "Samus" Paulicelli - drums
Mike Wilson - guitars
Thomas "Plaguehammer" Haywood Jr. - bass (track 8)
Additional musicians:
Kai "Trym Torson" Johnny Mosaker - drums
James Murphy - guitar solo, whammy
Additional info
- Japanese bonus tracks are from the "Legend" [EP]
- deluxe edition features the eponymous 2009 EP in its entirety
Rating:
8.5
8.5
|
Rating: 8.5 |
Symphonic black metal is quite a saturated genre. In fact, since the inception of bands like Emperor, Dimmu Borgir and Cradle Of Filth this combination of pure aggression with melody and symphonic arrangements has been visited so many times that a lot of metal fans have become tired of this formula. So, when Abigail Williams decided to abandon the metalcore of their first EP to record a symphonic black metal album with the collaboration of Trym (of Emperor fame), one could raise doubts on the pertinence of the final result. My answer is that Abigail Williams succeeded in writing one of the best albums of the genre since Emperor's In the Nightside Eclipse and I hope this review will convince you to give it a listen. The album starts with a keyboard intro which gives a hint of what's to come by showing a bit of the amazing talent of keyboardist Ashley Ellyllon. Then things get really interesting: ultra fast riffs, blood curling shrieks and poetic lyrics by Sorceron, top notch execution, amazing drumming including the usual lightning-fast blast beats and a deep sense of melody; every element of the music merges together to make your head bang at a dangerous rhythm. The album flows well from song to song while the same elements are used but always with little differences that prevent the music from becoming predictable or formulaic. Also, the band has been very keen in introducing some unusual elements coming from their metalcore background. This can be heard by the quite extensive use of amazing breakdowns and tempo changes in their songs and also by the use of clean vocals notably in the last song of the album, which is also one of the best tracks on this album: "The Departure". Other notable tracks include "Into The Ashes", "Empyrean: Into The Cold Wastes" and "Floods". The production on this album is awesome. Not only is every instrument clearly audible but James Murphy (Ex-Death member) and Sorceron have done a wonderful work by giving the album a sound that is clean without becoming clinical. Everything sounds big and great but stays very organic and edgy. The amazing guitar work of Bjornthor, Mike Wilson and James Murphy (who contributed some solos on three songs) is heavily distorted but without killing the numerous subtleties in it. The drums of Trym and Samus sound like hell giving the listener a full appreciation of their great talent. The keyboards of Ellyllon are very present while not taking all the space and leave an haunting feel in the listener's brain. To conclude this review, I'd like to say this album was one of the best discovers I made in 2008. The individual performances, the quality of the compositions, the original elements brought in the genre by the band and the amazing production work all contribute in making me believe this album should be given a try by symphonic black metal fans and even by extreme metal fans in general. Read more ›› |
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Comments
Comments: 8
Visited by: 409 users
| SexyCat_1113 Posts: 78  |
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| Valaskjalf Account deleted |
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| Entropic Silence Posts: 251  |
The only black metal album to stay on my playlist for any decent amount of time has been Emperor's IX Equilibrium. I'm really not a black metal person. But damn this album is good! Gutted when they pulled out they were going to play with Nile last may...
---- VICTORY!!!!! (They love it in France)
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| Undisputed Posts: 3  |
Written by [user id=1909] on 29.03.2010 at 04:52 No my friend, One of the best of all the time.
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| wormdrink414 Elite Posts: 1295  |
There are a few solid tracks, but the lead vocalist is awful. He's the kind of screamer who'd benefit from some old school production fuzz. That and, despite a few cool piano-fills and sweepy solos, the melodies all sound lazy to me--hackneyed even.
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| Jason W. Razorbliss Staff Posts: 3523  |
It's too bad all the songs aren't as great as "Empyrean: Into The Cold Wastes," but alas they are not. I still was pleasantly surprised by this song when it came out, and still find it creeping into random playlists. However, outside this, the rest is not so interesting to me.
---- "After silence that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." - Aldous Huxley
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| musicalkaratekid Posts: 1506 |
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| Joe Zombie Posts: 540  |
A solid black metal album. The last three tracks are definitely the highlights for me. Vocals are iffy but tolerable.
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