I’ll be upfront here; I’ve had a soft spot for Abigail Williams for a long while now. Back when I was in high school, In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns was one of the first black metal albums I ever bought myself as a newbie to the genre. Since then, I’ve always been interested in what the ever-evolving band’s next album would be like, comfortable that the result would always be high quality. So, the question stands: how does their new album A Void Within Existence stand among Abigail Williams‘ catalog?
The answer is easy: really damned well. A Void Within Existence is a grand work that shows a lot of diversity in approach and influences. Of course, the core of Abigail Williams‘ sound remains an atmospheric variety of black metal. There are still tremolo riffs and blastbeats aplenty, light symphonic dressings emerge here and there to give compositions a bit more oomph, and main man Ken Sorceron’s blackened rasps are still the driving vocal force on display. But A Void Within Existence eschews a lot of its parent genre’s boundaries, and winds up richer and more moving for it.
From the intro of opener “Life, Disconnected”, A Void Within Existence establishes itself as a very emotionally uncomfortable album. Dissonant chords trade off with slow-motion thrashing until the song proper kicks in with a churning riff that tends towards the low end of the fretboard while Sorceron shrieks out above the tumult. “Void Within” kicks up the pace a bit more, featuring a recurring riff that would fit into an Anthems-era Emperor track before a carnivalesque guitar figure heralds a more introspective outro. “Nonexistence” is a little more bittersweet, featuring an emotive lead line and several quiet atmospheric breaks allowing the bass to shine through, not to mention a great bluesy guitar solo to close out. The whiplash between that and the scorching fury of “Still Nights” is just plain exhilarating.
Coincidentally, “Still Nights” is also where the album really seems to deviate from standard black metal templates. To wit, the song features gang shouts, choppy riffs, and a momentary breakdown that points back to the band’s metalcore origins in a very cool way (in addition to the dazzling neoclassical guitar solo). Beyond that point, the songs across A Void Within Existence grow much longer and more flowing in their composition. The dirge that opens “Talk to Your Sleep” is positively aching after the track preceding it, leaving the despondent progressions much more breathing room.
Meanwhile, “Embrace the Chasm” has a charging, keyboard-laden intro that feels very reminiscent of “Empyrean: Into the Cold Wastes” off In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns before breaking out into a surprisingly rock rooted set of chords about two minutes in. The labyrinthine structure of the song stays engrossing throughout, and the interwoven melodies make for possibly my favorite track on the album. And if that’s not it, then “No Less Than Death” would probably be the other worthy song, with its post-rock reminiscent slow build and excellent singing from Sorceron building a great emotional peak under a blistering guitar solo closing the album out in serious style.
There’s more flash across A Void Within Existence than one may typically expect from black metal, but Abigail Williams makes sure style never overrides substance. The guitar solos across the board are marvelous, and hit in just the right moments, but the riffs and melodies are given the utmost care to get their hooks in the listener and properly evoke the mood. It also must be said that session drummer Mike Heller puts on a tremendous performance across the board, be it in blasting ferocity or tasteful sparseness. Sorceron’s production is perfect for this semi-symphonic variety of black metal (just note how the violins peek out at the perfect times), and Dave Otero’s mix is one of my favorites he’s done so far. It’s dense yet massive, and it gives the music plenty of heft.
Of course, the real heft comes by way of the songwriting, and it deserves to be reiterated that A Void Within Existence more than lives up to its title. Sorceron noted in some advanced press that the general state of the world and a lingering feeling of hollowness in life informed his writing across the album, and it shows. There were many moments where it felt like Abigail Williams was about to give over into full-bore depressive black metal, and the feeling of emptiness and burnout written into the music struck me on a deeper level than I expected. A Void Within Existence is not an album for bright days, but like many of the best black metal albums, it does provide a great mirror for our darker feelings. And better yet, Sorceron and company provide some beautiful moments of catharsis across the album that gave me goosebumps at least a few times.
Suffice to say, after more than a decade and a half since they first crossed my path, Abigail Williams still has that soft spot in my heart, and A Void Within Existence only strengthens that feeling. Hell, it might end up being my favorite album they’ve released thus far. A Void Within Existence is a deeply honest, heartfelt black metal album that synthesizes all the great elements Abigail Williams has shown across their career into one package. It proves there’s still plenty of fire in the band’s heart, regardless of how much life tries to beat down artist and listener alike.
