Abigail Williams is either a band you love or hate. Some fall in love with their mixture of black and death metal, whilst others call it a weak attempt. Although there are those who oppose the music they make, this has not stopped them from becoming a recognized band in the metal scene.
Forming in 2004, the band already has achievements such as signing to Candlelight Records on which they released a successful EP entitled Legend, and constant tours supporting the likes of Suicide Silence, Dark Funeral, and Enslaved. Unfortunately, their success abruptly ended in July of this year when Ken Sorceron, the vocalist and main man behind the band, announced their break up.
Now, just 5 months later Abigail Williams is back with a slightly modified line up. They seem to be as strong as ever which is evident by the new track available on their MySpace page. Next month they will also join Vader, Malevolent Creation, Cattle Decapitation, Light This City and Veil of Maya on the Death By Decibels tour.
Ultimate-Guitar.com correspondent Evan Greenblo spoke with Ken Sorceron of Abigail Williams in their first interview since the breakup.
Ultimate-Guitar: What sparked the initial breakup?
Ken Sorceron: I really just needed time to sort things out with the bands lineup and figure out what I really wanted to do. Abigail Williams was signed kind of early on and never had time to really develop the way I wanted to, because all of a sudden we were in this huge rush to do everything and we just didn't have the stability that we needed to keep going under those circumstances.
Was it the sort of breakup you thought would end the band or was it merely a hiatus to reform a new line up?
I saw it as a hiatus, but at the same time I could not announce it as one because I did not want the pressure of people (fans, label, etc) expecting something. I think it worked out better this way.
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| "I just needed time to sort things out with the bands lineup and figure out what I really wanted to do." |
Was the relocation from Phoenix to Cleveland to find a new line up?
Correct.
From what I understand you have totally scrapped the initial upcoming record. During the breakup, have you been writing new songs for a new record?
Most of it has been scrapped, but I have some riffs here and there that will still be used.
Are you solely responsible for the writing the upcoming record?
I don't want to say solely because there will probably be a few riffs that were written by jamming with other band members and when you start bouncing the ideas back and forth like that, you really can't say any single person wrote that part.
Was it the same way on your previous release Legend?
Sort of. Bjorn wrote the song "Like carrion birds". Ashley and I worked on the songs "From A Buried Heart" and "The Conqueror Wyrm" together. I wrote "Watchtower" and "Procession Of The Aeons".
Will there be a full length in the near future?
It will be completed early 2008.
Will it still be released through Candlelight Records?
Yes.
How will the upcoming record differ from your previous release Legend?
It will be much more focused and will lean strongly towards the more black metal side of the band.
Will the studio band differ from the live band?
Studio band is pretty much Zach Gibson on drums, Milke Wilson playing solos, and myself doing the rest. Live we are joined by Kirsten Randall on keyboard, Bjorn Dannov on guitar and Tommy Haywood Jr. on bass.
How did you hook up the tour with Vader and Malevolent Creation before even announcing the reformation?
It was offered to us. It just turned out they had to announce the tour before we were ready to announce anything. We didn't want to announce anything until we had a new song for people to hear. We didn't want people to think we were back together just to rehash old shit.
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| "The new album will be completed early 2008." |
Do you feel composers such as Danny Elfman provide inspiration for (mainly) your keyboards in the band?
Very much so.
What do you consider to be the biggest downfall in the metal community? Do you think it is a close-knit community or full of shit?
I don't really think about the negative side of the metal community too much but I do think it's pretty lame when people "judge a book by its cover".
Would you consider Abigail Williams to have an important roll in the metal scene?
I think we play a roll in getting younger people into metal. So many times we have gotten emails from kids telling us that we are the first "death/black metal" band they have ever gotten into and from there they get into all the classic shit that they never would have checked out otherwise. I would say that's a pretty good feeling.
What's the fastest BPM Zach can play?
Haha, I don't know we never checked. I know he can play double bass at around 240 and blasting is way higher up there. We don't really play anything that goes to his top speeds or anything. I love that guy.
What are some of your favourite releases of 2007?
Off the top of my head...
Aeon - Rise to dominate
Bergraven - Dodsvisioner
Dimmu Borgir - In Sorte Diaboli
Marduk - Rom 5:12
Naglfar - Harvest
Despised Icon - The Ills Of Modern Man
2007 © Evan Greenblo
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