ABIGAL WILLIAMS - In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns CD review

ABIGAL WILLIAMS - In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns CD
Candlelight Records

Here we have an American Symphonic Black Metal band nailing the modern day DIMMU BORGIR and CRADLE OF FILTH formula down completely. Well sometimes imitation is the greatest form of flattery but this is a little disturbing. I mean there are very few modern day Black Metal bands that don't borrow something from the past. In all honesty, those who don't are not part of the genre. But after the cheesy keyboard intro, and it is fairly cheesy, the first couple of songs sound like they would've fit perfectly on DIMMU BORGIR's OR COF's last release. In fact midway through listening to this CD I was getting bored with it. Which is just what I felt about DIMMU BORGIR's and COF's last releases too. Hey I'm not trying to come off sounding like some elitist jerk. It's just that the similarities are so blatantly obvious and to not point it out would make me sound foolish.

But let's give them some credit. This is actually better than CRADLE OF FILTH's last release. Musically it's what you come to expect from a Symphonic Black Metal band that's geared toward the Hot Topic crowd. You've got plenty of orchestral styled keyboards, punishing guitars and bass, and blast beat drumming. All of the drumming on here, with the exception of three cuts, was performed by Trym Torson of EMPEROR/ZYKLON fame. Although only a guest here he simply takes over this release with driving rhythmic pounding like a machine gun. The vocalist, Ken Sorceron, comes off sounding alot like Dani Filth with that patented high pitch screech. But probably the most important thing about this release is that it was produced by James Murphy of OBITUARY and DEATH fame. The sound on here is so clean and crisp that you could eat off of it. Which is something that will chase away purists like sunlight to a vampire. But like I said earlier this release wasn't geared toward them in the first place.

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