Abigail Williams explores thoughts with her new album.
Six years after his last release, Ken Sorceron (guitar/vocals/bass/keyboards, Nachtmystium, Vale of Pnath, ex-Lord Mantis, ex-The Faceless…) surrounds himself with John Porada (bass, Bear Mace, Pulchra Morte), Gabe Seeber (drums, Decrepith Birth, The Kennedy Veil, Vale of Pnath) and Vance Valenzuela (guitar, Vale of Pnath), signs with Agonia Records and unveils A Void Within Existence.
Drums were recorded by Mike Heller (Black Hole Deity, Azure Emotion, Malignancy…).
The album begins in the darkest oppression with Life, Disconnected, a thick and imposing first composition where dissonance imposes itself on us as a matter of course before finally making way for furious vocals. The progression is different, much more jerky, while the disturbing harmonics return to haunt the air with a very complex approach before finally moving on to Void Within, which confronts us with melancholic tones despite the violence. The orchestrations embellish the cocoon of darkness in which the band envelops us, confronting us with the screaming demon while occasionally adopting a slightly Prog approach towards the end, before giving way to a certain gentleness on Nonexistence, the following track. The sound eventually bursts into flames, and the gentle melody transforms for a moment into a frenzied wave before returning to its tranquility, allowing the vocals to be reborn in the background and then dominate the striking new wave that eventually dies down, leading to Still Nights, which returns to a primitive rage. The choirs reinforce this feeling of brutality brought on by the powerful instrumental, but the track passes in an instant, and Talk To Your Sleep slowly carries us away in its flow, which seems soothing at first but turns into a disturbing and, above all, very changeable current that doesn’t hesitate to switch to haunting melodies to captivate us. A moment of silence, then Embrace The Chasm captures our attention with visceral screams, coupled with a rhythm that sweeps everything away before revealing slightly more dreamy and contemplative aspects. We are easily lulled by the leads, but also terrorized by the intensity of the vocals, which eventually give way to a moment of respite with No Less Than Death, the last fairly long track where the band takes the time to reassure us with clear tones that slowly amplify, but even when saturation fills the air again, it remains intoxicating and lets us drift until the very last moments.
Although still relatively underrated in my opinion, Abigail Williams is gradually making a name for herself on the underground scene, offering with A Void Within Existence a true journey of introspection under the guise of dark and disturbing sounds. A real success.
95/100
