Abigail Williams - Biography
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Biography
The band was formed in 2005 by guitarist Ken Bergeron, who later became the vocalist. Prior to forming Abigail Williams and taking on the name Sorceron, Bergeron was the guitarist of Victims In Ecstacy, followed by participation in various hardcore and metal acts in Arizona.
Abigail Williams' first recording was an EP entitled Gallow Hill. It was never officially released, functioning only as the band's demo, but it would later become a bootleg. Three of the tracks would be released on the Legend EP, including "Watchtower". "Melquiades (The Great Work)" was re-titled "The Conqueror Wyrm" and "Swollen Disgust" was released as "Like Carrion Birds".
The release of their debut full-length album, In The Shadow Of A Thousand Suns took inspiration from the melodic metal scene found in the Nordic countries. Because bands from these countries were immersed in the mythology of their respective countries, Abigail Williams looked into American history. Arthur Miller's The Crucible brought Abigail Williams, one of the original and foremost accusers in the Salem witch trials of 1692, to their attention.
After touring extensively, including a United Kingdom tour in 2006, its debut release was the Legend EP in 2006, which mixed metalcore influences with symphonic black metal, and was described by Allmusic as "a perfect example of an American recording with a very Nordic-influenced sound". According to vocalist/guitarist Ken Sorceron, the EP was only released so that the band would have something to promote, explaining "a lot of the songs are, like, older songs, and they felt a bit old. At the time we were trying to make an album and we just couldn't finish it on time for some tours". After touring with Dark Funeral and Enslaved, the band split up in early 2007, although Sorceron later claimed that rather than a permanent split it was a pre-meditated hiatus. Sorceron and Ellyllon continued playing together in another band, and eventually asked Abigail Williams bassist Thomas G. Plaguehammer to join them on drums. They decided to resume Abigail Williams as a band, with Plaguehammer returning to bass, Zach Gibson and Bjorn Dannov rejoining, and also Kristen Randall (Winds Of Plague) joining the band. After a tour in late 2007, their drummer and keyboard player left, with Ashley Ellylon rejoining on keyboards and Samus becoming the new permanent drummer.
The band went into the studio with producer James Murphy (former guitarist of Obituary, Testament, and Cancer) to record their debut album, In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns, released in October 2008, on which the metalcore elements are absent, now concentrating on symphonic black metal, and has drawn comparisons to Dimmu Borgir and Cradle Of Filth. The influence of European metal, particularly Scandinavian, is again evident. The album took more than six months to record, and Trym Torson of Emperor/Enslaved played drums on all tracks on the album except "Floods", "Acolytes" and "Empyrean". Most of the songs were written by Sorceron while the band was on hiatus in 2007. The band toured Europe and the UK in summer 2008. In 2009, keyboardist Ashley Ellylon became the new keyboardist for Cradle Of Filth, replacing Rosie Smith. In October 2009, Sam "Samus" Paulicelli also left to focus on other projects.
Abigail Williams released the deluxe edition of In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns on January 12, 2010, which included a second disc featuring four new songs, one unreleased demo of "Floods," and the music video for "Into the Ashes".
Abigail Williams released their second full-length album, called In the Absence of Light, via Candlelight Records on September 28, 2010.
The band began work on a new album in the summer of 2011, titled Becoming, which is slated for a January 24, 2012 release date through Candlelight Records. This will be Abigail Williams' third full-length through the label. Front man, Sorceron handled all production aspects of the album. On November 10, 2011, a song from their new album, Becoming, leaked over YouTube, entitled "Ascension Sickness". The album was officially released on January 24, 2012.
Abigail Williams' first recording was an EP entitled Gallow Hill. It was never officially released, functioning only as the band's demo, but it would later become a bootleg. Three of the tracks would be released on the Legend EP, including "Watchtower". "Melquiades (The Great Work)" was re-titled "The Conqueror Wyrm" and "Swollen Disgust" was released as "Like Carrion Birds".
The release of their debut full-length album, In The Shadow Of A Thousand Suns took inspiration from the melodic metal scene found in the Nordic countries. Because bands from these countries were immersed in the mythology of their respective countries, Abigail Williams looked into American history. Arthur Miller's The Crucible brought Abigail Williams, one of the original and foremost accusers in the Salem witch trials of 1692, to their attention.
After touring extensively, including a United Kingdom tour in 2006, its debut release was the Legend EP in 2006, which mixed metalcore influences with symphonic black metal, and was described by Allmusic as "a perfect example of an American recording with a very Nordic-influenced sound". According to vocalist/guitarist Ken Sorceron, the EP was only released so that the band would have something to promote, explaining "a lot of the songs are, like, older songs, and they felt a bit old. At the time we were trying to make an album and we just couldn't finish it on time for some tours". After touring with Dark Funeral and Enslaved, the band split up in early 2007, although Sorceron later claimed that rather than a permanent split it was a pre-meditated hiatus. Sorceron and Ellyllon continued playing together in another band, and eventually asked Abigail Williams bassist Thomas G. Plaguehammer to join them on drums. They decided to resume Abigail Williams as a band, with Plaguehammer returning to bass, Zach Gibson and Bjorn Dannov rejoining, and also Kristen Randall (Winds Of Plague) joining the band. After a tour in late 2007, their drummer and keyboard player left, with Ashley Ellylon rejoining on keyboards and Samus becoming the new permanent drummer.
The band went into the studio with producer James Murphy (former guitarist of Obituary, Testament, and Cancer) to record their debut album, In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns, released in October 2008, on which the metalcore elements are absent, now concentrating on symphonic black metal, and has drawn comparisons to Dimmu Borgir and Cradle Of Filth. The influence of European metal, particularly Scandinavian, is again evident. The album took more than six months to record, and Trym Torson of Emperor/Enslaved played drums on all tracks on the album except "Floods", "Acolytes" and "Empyrean". Most of the songs were written by Sorceron while the band was on hiatus in 2007. The band toured Europe and the UK in summer 2008. In 2009, keyboardist Ashley Ellylon became the new keyboardist for Cradle Of Filth, replacing Rosie Smith. In October 2009, Sam "Samus" Paulicelli also left to focus on other projects.
Abigail Williams released the deluxe edition of In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns on January 12, 2010, which included a second disc featuring four new songs, one unreleased demo of "Floods," and the music video for "Into the Ashes".
Abigail Williams released their second full-length album, called In the Absence of Light, via Candlelight Records on September 28, 2010.
The band began work on a new album in the summer of 2011, titled Becoming, which is slated for a January 24, 2012 release date through Candlelight Records. This will be Abigail Williams' third full-length through the label. Front man, Sorceron handled all production aspects of the album. On November 10, 2011, a song from their new album, Becoming, leaked over YouTube, entitled "Ascension Sickness". The album was officially released on January 24, 2012.