Review Summary: Still lacking in identity, if not quality.
The single greatest reason Abigail Williams has failed to make as much impact in the American black metal scene as their talent would imply is that not once over ten years and a half dozen releases have they offered a sound that’s truly
them. It’s becoming a frustratingly moot point when speaking critically of them to mention what particular niche they’re tackling at the moment. There was the Emperor worshipping symphonic black metal of
In The Shadow of a Thousand Suns, then the more stripped down and visceral fury of
In the Absence of Light, and finally the Cascadian Wolves in the Throne Room-ness of
Becoming. The latter was about as close as they’d gotten, though it was more the exceptional execution that wowed than the thin strains of originality buried in the album.
The Accuser has the misfortune of having these expectations bearing down on its back, and in a way, maybe that’s why it feels so damn crippled.
It’s clear Abigail Williams wanted to show people what they’re made of with this record, and that manifests here with their most varied sounds and ideas.
The Accuser cherry picks from across their discography and beyond, mostly notably from
In the Absence of Light and psychedelic black metal powerhouse Nachtmystium. Granted, several former members of Nachtmystium joined up with Abigail Williams in between records so that doesn’t prove to be an unexpected comparison. Essentially,
The Accuser is simultaneously their most raw, caustic, and heavy album and features their most measured atmospheres and melodies. It’s filled to the brim with strong, memorable songwriting, and every track here is worth a listen or three. It’s just the feeling that very little here screams Abigail Williams, if such a thing as yet exists, that hurts the experience. The band is still struggling to carve an identity in black metal, and the album loses a lot of punch due to that. For a band with as much talent in riff-writing, melody, atmosphere and composition, we’re still waiting for them to catch on and really impress.
The Accuser is not that, no matter how good it may be on its own terms.
