Abigail Williams (band)
Encyclopedia
Abigail Williams is an American 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.
, followed by participation in various hardcore and metal acts in Arizona.
Abigail Williams' first recording was an EP
entitled Gallow Hill. It was never officially released, functioning only as the band's demo, but it would later become a bootleg
. Three of the tracks would be released on the Legend EP, including "Watchtower". "Melquiades (The Great Work)" was re-titled "The Conqueror Wyrm" and "Swollen Disgust" was released as "Like Carrion Birds".
The release of their debut full-length 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.
The band began work on a new album in the summer of 2011, titled Becoming, which is slated for a January 24, 2012 release date through Candlelight Records. This will be Abigail Williams' third full-length through the label. Front man, Sorceron handled all production aspects of the album. On November 10, 2011, a song from their new album, Becoming, leaked over YouTube
, entitled Ascension Sickness.
Former members
EPs
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, but now based in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. 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
In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns
- Track listing :-Personnel:* Ken Sorceron – vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, producer, mixing , programming * James Murphy – mixing, engineer, mastering, producer, acoustic guitar, guitar solo...
, vocalist Ken Sorceron would become the only original member remaining.
History
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 EcstacyVictims In Ecstacy
Victims in Ecstasy were an unsigned rock band from Phoenix, Arizona who were active between 1998 and 2001.-Formation:Victims in Ecstacy were formed in 1998 in Phoenix, Arizona by Jim Louvau and Andy Gerold. Their style of music was, according to themselves, “New School Arena Rock”. They took...
, followed by participation in various hardcore and metal acts in Arizona.
Abigail Williams' first recording was an EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
entitled Gallow Hill. It was never officially released, functioning only as the band's demo, but it would later become a bootleg
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
. Three of the tracks would be released on the Legend EP, including "Watchtower". "Melquiades (The Great Work)" was re-titled "The Conqueror Wyrm" and "Swollen Disgust" was released as "Like Carrion Birds".
The release of their debut full-length album, In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns
In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns
- Track listing :-Personnel:* Ken Sorceron – vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, producer, mixing , programming * James Murphy – mixing, engineer, mastering, producer, acoustic guitar, guitar solo...
took inspiration from the melodic metal scene found in the Nordic countries
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
. Because bands from these countries were immersed in the mythology of their respective countries, Abigail Williams looked into American history. Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
's The Crucible
The Crucible
The Crucible is a 1952 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatization of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693. Miller wrote the play as an allegory of McCarthyism, when the US government blacklisted accused communists...
brought Abigail Williams
Abigail Williams
Abigail Williams was one of the initial accusers in the Salem witch trials of 1692, which led to the arrest and imprisonment of over 150 innocent people.-Salem Witch trials:...
, one of the original and foremost accusers in the Salem witch trials
Salem witch trials
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings before county court trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft in the counties of Essex, Suffolk, and Middlesex in colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693...
of 1692, to their attention.
After touring extensively, including a United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
tour in 2006, its debut release was the Legend
Legend (Abigail Williams EP)
*"Like Carrion Birds", "The Conqueror Wyrm", and "Watchtower" were on the band's demo, titled "Swollen Disgust", "Melquiades ", and "Watchtower", respectively.*"Watchtower" was also remixed and released as a downloadable single....
EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
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
Dark Funeral
Dark Funeral is a black metal band from Stockholm, Sweden, founded by guitarists Blackmoon and Lord Ahriman in 1993. They are one of the bands to have emerged in Sweden during the Second wave of black metal....
and Enslaved
Enslaved (band)
Enslaved is a progressive black metal band formed in June 1991 in Sveio, Norway, and currently based out of Bergen, Norway.-History:Enslaved was formed in June 1991 by Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson when they were 13 and 17 years old, respectively. The band name was inspired by an Immortal demo...
, 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
Winds of Plague
Winds of Plague is an American deathcore band from Upland, California, formed in 2002. They are best known as one of the only deathcore bands to incorporate symphonic elements into their music....
) 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
Obituary (band)
Obituary is an American death metal band formed in 1984 in Tampa, Florida under the name Executioner, then changed the name's spelling to Xecutioner, and later changed their name to Obituary in 1988. The band comprises vocalist John Tardy, drummer Donald Tardy, guitarists Trevor Peres and Ralph...
, Testament
Testament (band)
Testament is an American metal band from Berkeley, California, formed in 1983. They are often credited as one of the most popular bands of the 1980s thrash metal scene...
, and Cancer
Cancer (band)
Cancer was a British death / thrash metal band formed in Ironbridge, Telford, Shropshire in 1988. Over the course of their career they released five full-length albums, including one for the major label East West, breaking up in 2006.-Biography:...
) 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
Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir is a Norwegian black metal band from Oslo, Norway, formed in 1993. Dimmu borgir means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, Faroese and Old Norse. The name is derived from a volcanic formation in Iceland, Dimmuborgir...
and Cradle of Filth
Cradle of Filth
Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band, formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic black metal, and other extreme metal styles, while their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily...
. The influence of European metal, particularly Scandinavian, is again evident. The album took more than six months to record, and Trym Torson
Trym Torson
Trym Torson , or just Trym, is a Norwegian drummer, formerly with Zyklon. Torson started playing in the Viking metal band Enslaved and was later invited to play in black metal band Emperor. He co-founded Zyklon together with Emperor member Samoth...
of Emperor
Emperor (band)
Emperor was a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1991. They dissolved in 2001, but reunited in 2006 and again in 2007 for a few festival dates and brief US tours. The group was founded by Samoth and Ihsahn .-Biography:...
/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
Cradle of Filth
Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band, formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic black metal, and other extreme metal styles, while their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily...
, replacing Rosie Smith
Rosie Smith
Rosie Smith is an English rock and metal musician, best known as the former keyboardist of the British extreme metal band Cradle of Filth,.-Biography:...
. 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
In the Absence of Light
-Personnel:* Ken Sorceron – vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards* Ian Jekelis – guitar* Ken Bedene – drums...
, via Candlelight Records on September 28, 2010.
The band began work on a new album in the summer of 2011, titled Becoming, which is slated for a January 24, 2012 release date through Candlelight Records. This will be Abigail Williams' third full-length through the label. Front man, Sorceron handled all production aspects of the album. On November 10, 2011, a song from their new album, Becoming, leaked over YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, entitled Ascension Sickness.
Band members
Current members- Zach Gibson – drums (2006, 2007, since 2011)
- Ian Jekelis – lead guitar (since 2009)
- Ken Sorceron – vocals (since 2006), rhythm guitar (since 2009)
- Gryph Wotawa - bass (since 2011)
Former members
- Ken Bedene – drums (2009-2011)
- Kristen Randall – keyboards (2007)
- Kyle Dickinson – bass guitar, backing vocals (2006)
- Connor Woods – vocals (2005–2006)
- Ashley EllyllonAshley EllyllonAshley "Ellyllon" Jurgemeyer is an American pianist, keyboardist and songwriter for the band Orbs and was the former pianist of the symphonic black metal band Abigail Williams and of Cradle of Filth.-Biography:...
– keyboards (2005–2008) - Sam "Samus" Paulicelli – drums (2008–2009)
Discography
Studio albums- In the Shadow of a Thousand SunsIn the Shadow of a Thousand Suns- Track listing :-Personnel:* Ken Sorceron – vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, producer, mixing , programming * James Murphy – mixing, engineer, mastering, producer, acoustic guitar, guitar solo...
(2008), CandlelightCandlelight RecordsCandlelight Records is an independent record label based in Europe founded by former Extreme Noise Terror bassist Lee Barrett, though it has had a division in the United States since January 2001. Candlelight Records specialises in black metal and death metal, having bands such as Emperor,... - In the Absence of LightIn the Absence of Light-Personnel:* Ken Sorceron – vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards* Ian Jekelis – guitar* Ken Bedene – drums...
(2010) - Becoming (2012), CandlelightCandlelight RecordsCandlelight Records is an independent record label based in Europe founded by former Extreme Noise Terror bassist Lee Barrett, though it has had a division in the United States since January 2001. Candlelight Records specialises in black metal and death metal, having bands such as Emperor,...
EPs
- LegendLegend (Abigail Williams EP)*"Like Carrion Birds", "The Conqueror Wyrm", and "Watchtower" were on the band's demo, titled "Swollen Disgust", "Melquiades ", and "Watchtower", respectively.*"Watchtower" was also remixed and released as a downloadable single....
(2006), Candlelight - Tour 2009 EP (2009), Candlelight