Abigail Williams is an American Symphonic Black Metal band, originally from Phoenix, Arizona, but now based in Los Angeles. Formed in 2004, the group would suffer constant changes to their line-up. Shortly after an eight-week tour in support of In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns, vocalist Ken Sorceron would become the only original member remaining.
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,[2] followed by participation in various hardcore and metal acts in Arizona.
The release of their debut 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 Wilson continued playing together in another band, and eventually asked AW 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.
Thulcandra was founded in 2003 by Steffen Kummerer and Juergen Zintz. Inspired by the music of Dissection and Unanimated, the founding members followed the path first explored by the Swedish masters of blackened death metal. By 2004, the band's first demo was recorded and the preparations for the first studio album were in full swing.
But dark days fell upon Thulcandra. In early 2005, Juergen Zintz, plagued by years of battling his personal demons, committed suicide. The tragic incident naturally brought the band to an abrupt halt. As time passed, however, remaining member Steffen Kummerer reworked the material and began writing new songs for the highly anticipated debut.
Yet it wasn't until a couple of years later when the evil twins Tobias and Sebastian Ludwig (known for their guitar and bass duties in the German pagan metal band Helfahrt) joined forces with Kummerer that Thulcandra was truly revived. With Seraph of the mighty Dark Fortress stepping in as a session drummer, Thulcandra could finally move forward to record "Fallen Angel's Dominion".
Thulcandra's debut unleashes a merciless winter storm upon the masses complete with freezing temperatures and endless darkness. "Fallen Angel's Dominion" creates a frigid atmosphere of icy compositions arousing the spirit of the early nineties. Guitarists Steffen Kummerer and Sebastian Ludwig weave a web of raging riffs, emphasized by infernal blastbeats, and crowned by black-as-night vocals. The black/death metal tracks deliver an uncompromising heaviness without ever sacrificing melody.
"Fallen Angel's Dominion" has acquired its sonic dominance at Woodshed Studios, at the hands of V. Santura (Obscura, Tryptykon, Dark Fortress) and Steffen Kummerer. Kristian Wåhlin (a.k.a. Necrolord), also known for his artistic expertise on classic releases from Dissection, Emperor, and Dark Funeral, is responsible for the artwork.
'Fallen Angel's Dominion' will see the light of darkness in June via Napalm Records. all photos by Ruth Gräbeldinger for Alpha Photograpy
Iskald represents ice cold and crystal clear black metal from the land of the midnight sun. Iskald shines like aurora borealis on the northern black metal hemisphere. Hailing from Sortland in the northern part of Norway, Iskald have crafted out what will most likely stand out as a future classic within the genre.
Fueled by the devotion to Norse mythology and the inspiration of arctic surroundings, founding members Simon Larsen and Aage Krekling, started up their black metal project, Iskald in early 2005.