The Accuser (album)

Last updated
The Accuser
The Accuser (album).jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 30, 2015 (2015-10-30)
Genre Black metal
Length45:37
Label Candlelight
Producer Ken Sorceron
Abigail Williams chronology
Becoming
(2012)
The Accuser
(2015)
Walk Beyond the Dark
(2019)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Louder Sound Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Maximum Volume Music8.5/10 [3]

The Accuser is the fourth album by American black metal band Abigail Williams. It was released on October 30, 2015, via Candlelight Records, and features a one-time lineup that includes guitarist Jeff Wilson, drummer Charlie Fell, and bassist Will Lindsay, along with additional vocals by Neill Jameson. Cover art was made by Stevie Floyd. [4]

Contents

Critical reception

The album was met with highly positive reviews. A reviewer in Metal Injection stated, "If you’ve had issue with Abigail Williams in the past (albeit their generic Dimmu Borgir worship or their deathcore days) don’t let that stop you from listening to what is actually a fantastically composed album. The Accuser stands as my favorite incarnation of the band’s material. The old school mentality gives the band a serious edge, though their still not without modern influence in the post metal world (we’re “post” everything these days, aren't we?). Those that love Gorgoroth and Emperor, but can stand to see flashes of bands like Pelican in their black metal take note and get on this one." [5]

Andy Synn of No Clean Singing explained in his review, "Where Becoming built up slowly, rising towards the point of eruption, The Accuser burns hard right from the start, but burns itself down to the bone in the process. It’s a simple but effective shift in approach, but one that was definitely the right move to make, simultaneously sidestepping accusations of trend-chasing whilst also refusing to be boxed in or stagnate in one place, and right now I’m struggling to decide between Becoming and The Accuser as to which is the better album..." [6]

Joseph Collins of CVLT Nation concluded his review by saying "that Ken Sorceron and his new compatriots have achieved the vision they were going for when they united under the banner of Abigail Williams. The days of metal-core breakdowns and dark tributes to symphonic Black Metal are gone. The Accuser sounds like a totally different project, one that has been forged and tempered in isolation and suffocating despair. While admittingly, it does borrow a bit from the sound of more bench-marked projects, it still has the balls and chops to stand up alongside other projects within the extreme metal scene, particularly the always “tolerant and open-minded” American and European Black Metal scene." [7]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Path of Broken Glass"5:33
2."The Cold Lines"3:48
3."Of the Outer Darkness"7:12
4."Will, Wish and Desire"5:58
5."Godhead"7:12
6."Forever Kingdom of Dirt"6:42
7."Lost Communion"4:04
8."Nuummite"5:08
Total length:45:37

Personnel

Abigail Williams

Guest musicians

Production

Related Research Articles

Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitars of metal with different elements of orchestral classical music, such as symphonic instruments, choirs and sometimes a full orchestra, or just keyboard orchestration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Between the Buried and Me</span> American progressive metal band

Between the Buried and Me, often abbreviated as BTBAM, is an American progressive metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina. Formed in 2000, the band consists of Tommy Giles Rogers Jr., Paul Waggoner, Dan Briggs, Dustie Waring (guitar) and Blake Richardson (drums).

<i>Count Your Blessings</i> (Bring Me the Horizon album) 2006 studio album by Bring Me the Horizon

Count Your Blessings is the debut studio album by British rock band Bring Me the Horizon. Recorded at DEP International Studios in Birmingham with producer Dan Sprigg, it was originally released in the United Kingdom on 30 October 2006 by Visible Noise. The album was later issued by Earache Records in the United States on 14 August 2007. Count Your Blessings was supported by the release of music videos for two of the album's tracks: "Pray for Plagues" on 4 June 2007 and "For Stevie Wonder's Eyes Only (Braille)" on 6 March 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolves in the Throne Room</span> American black metal band

Wolves in the Throne Room is an American black metal band formed in 2002 in Olympia, Washington, by brothers Aaron and Nathan Weaver. They have released seven full-length albums, two live albums, and one EP to date. They have stated one of the founding concepts of the band to be channeling the "energies of the Pacific Northwest's landscape" into musical form.

<i>Air Supply</i> (1985 album) 1985 studio album by Air Supply

Air Supply is the eighth studio and second eponymous album by British-Australian soft rock duo Air Supply, released in 1985. The album was a step down in the band's sales, reaching gold certification and No. 26 on the US charts. The single "Just as I Am" was their last major entry on the charts, reaching No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100, while their interpretation of the Jennifer Rush song "The Power of Love" became a minor hit, reaching No. 68.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abigail Williams (band)</span> American black metal band

Abigail Williams is an American black metal band, originally from Phoenix, Arizona, but now based in Olympia, Washington. Since their formation in 2004, the group has suffered near-constant changes to their line-up. The band even disbanded in 2007 for a short time before reforming and writing their debut full-length album. Shortly after an eight-week tour in support of their debut full-length album In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns (2008), vocalist Ken Sorceron would become the only original member remaining.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Faceless</span> American technical death metal band

The Faceless are an American technical death metal band from the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles. They released their debut album, Akeldama, in November 2006, and a follow-up, Planetary Duality, in November 2008. The band's third album, Autotheism, was released on August 14, 2012. On December 1, 2017, the band released their fourth album, In Becoming a Ghost.

<i>Legend</i> (Abigail Williams EP) 2006 EP by Abigail Williams

Legend is the debut EP by black metal band Abigail Williams. It was released in October 2006 through Candlelight Records. The EP is noted for its metalcore influences that are abandoned after this release.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashley Ellyllon</span> American musician

Ashley "Ellyllon" Jurgemeyer is an American pianist, keyboardist and songwriter for the band Orbs and was the former pianist of symphonic black metal bands Abigail Williams and of Cradle of Filth.

<i>In the Absence of Light</i> 2010 studio album by Abigail Williams

In the Absence of Light is the second album by black metal band Abigail Williams. The album was released in North America on September 28, 2010. The album moves away from the symphonic black metal sound and keyboard usage featured on In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns to a more standard black metal sound.

<i>Becoming</i> (Abigail Williams album) 2012 studio album by Abigail Williams

Becoming is the third album by American black metal band Abigail Williams. It was released on January 24, 2012, via Candlelight Records. The album was met with highly positive reviews. Becoming was initially planned to be the band's final album as they announced their disestablishment soon after, but Abigail Williams would later decide to continue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dead Congregation</span> Greek death metal band

Dead Congregation is a Greek death metal band from Athens formed in 2004. The band have released two full-length albums, two EPs, and a split release with Hatespawn. They released their latest full-length album Promulgation of the Fall on May 5, 2014, through their own label, Martyrdoom Productions, and on November 7, 2016, they released their EP 'Sombre Doom'. The band's name is derived from the title of a song written in their previous band Nuclear Winter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erimha</span> Canadian extreme metal band

Erimha is a Canadian extreme metal band from Montreal, Quebec. The band name comes from the Sumerian word for army. The band members dress as ragged leather-clad corpses during performances.

<i>Fallen</i> (Stryper album) 2015 studio album by Stryper

Fallen is the sixteenth release and the eleventh studio album by the Christian metal band Stryper, produced by the frontman Michael Sweet and released on October 16, 2015.

<i>In Becoming a Ghost</i> 2017 studio album by The Faceless

In Becoming a Ghost is the fourth studio album by The Faceless. It was released on December 1, 2017 through Sumerian Records. It is the only album with Abigail Williams' Ken Sorceron on vocals, The Zenith Passage's Justin McKinney on guitar and Chason Westmoreland, formerly of Hate Eternal, session drumming. The album debuted at #66 on the Billboard Top Current Albums chart.

Ævangelist are an American death metal/black metal band that integrates avant-garde and experimental elements into their music. The band is primarily composed of Ascaris and Matron Thorn, though additional musicians take on drum and guitar duties for live performances. The band was formed in 2010 by Ascaris and Matron Thorn and they have released four full-length albums and five EPs to date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imperial Triumphant</span> American experimental metal band

Imperial Triumphant is an American experimental metal band formed in 2005 in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesus Piece (band)</span> American metalcore band

Jesus Piece is an American metalcore band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed in 2015. The band signed to Southern Lord Records in 2018 with the release of their debut Only Self. They have since toured with acts such as Code Orange, Knocked Loose, and Ghostemane. Their second studio album, ...So Unknown, was released in 2023.

Alex Poole is an American multi-instrumentalist musician from Nashville, Tennessee. Poole has prolifically contributed to the Black Metal genre having led or contributed to a number of black metal bands including Chaos Moon, Manetheren, Krieg, Skaphe, Martrod, and Gardsghastr. He has also played live with a number of bands to fill in for missing guitarists or bassists over the years.

Walk Beyond the Dark is the fifth album by American black metal band Abigail Williams. It was released on November 15, 2019, via Blood Music.

References

  1. Thom Jurek. "Album: Abigail Williams – The Accuser". AllMusic. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  2. Cheryl Carter (November 10, 2015). "Abigail Williams: The Accuser". Louder Sound. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  3. Donnie Kemp (November 18, 2015). "Review: Abigail Williams – The Accuser (2015)". Maximum Volume Music. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  4. "Abigail Williams Detail New Album "The Accuser"". 25 August 2015.
  5. "Album Review: ABIGAIL WILLIAMS The Accuser". Metal Injection. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  6. "ABIGAIL WILLIAMS: "THE ACCUSER"". No Clean Singing. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  7. Abigail Williams – The Accuser Review – Full Stream – Visual. CVLT Nation. November 16, 2015.