Urgent snarls of guitars laced with frozen riffs, blasts of icy drumbeats, all leading to the howling scream of the vocals. Yes, it’s black metal time although in the instance of Abigail Williams, dare we say accessible black metal? Maybe a misnomer but they do offer an easy path into the genre. New album A Void Within Existence is another effortless blast of American black metal, and whilst not as accessible as their previous album Walk Beyond The Dark, this one certainly continues to invite in the casual listener.
It’s the production values, ultimately, which set them apart from say, the Norwegian lot, but the ethos remains the same. The scream that takes us into ‘Void Within’ unleashing a barrage of lock drums and riffs that simply cascade after each other.
Delving into themes of loss and disintegration, the melodic breakdowns form the emotional core in the maelstrom, providing an atmospheric mood music. Despite its inherent chaos, it’s almost transcendent in the way it affects you. There’s a calmness sometimes, in the way the music envelopes you. Look at the way Non-Existence opens up before heading full tilt into a void of despair. They revisit this trick regularly across the album. They also provide pure unadulterated black metal through ‘Still Nights’.
‘Talk To Your Sleep’, perhaps, is the epicentre of the album. A more measured track which relies on atmosphere and some rather intricate playing all round. By slowing down the maelstrom they create an eye of the storm moment. It’s also the start of a three track crescendo which demonstrates a band at the top of their game. The piano on the violent ‘Embrace The Chasm’ providing a naked beauty against the raw chaos which erupts into an epic masterpiece, then finally the curveball that is ‘No Less Than Death’, a track that manages to sound both out of place with its clean vocals but also the most perfect ending.
Purists may balk at the way the album ends but it does show that as a band they are not afraid to push boundaries. A Void Within Existence may not break any real genre necessities and ultimately sticks to a USBM template but they do it in a way which deserves attention. An album deserving of your time.
