Abigail Williams : "The Accuser"

Their singer says this album was written from the perspective of a nihilistic occultist shit head, so I should find it very easy to relate to. Their last album "Becoming" found the band actually playing legit black metal and they are sticking to that formula for this one , though they are still melodic in much the same way Nachtmystium can be. Things get darker for the creepy pulse of "The Cold Lines". It feels more like up tempo DSBM, with some less coarse vocals crying out in the distance, not quiet sung yet very emotive. The go back to a blastier tone on "Of the Outer Darkness" .  The vocals have improved on this album there is much more anguish in them. Compared to the previous song the blast beats are well executed, but it gets more interesting when they slow down. Charlie Fell from Cobalt is on the drum throne for this album, so the drums are always going to deliver, but it is the slower more dismal grooves that are the most moving.

There is a more rock n roll vibe to the guitars leading into "Will , Wish and Desire". The keeps a mid-tempo throb, with the guitar weaving solos around it. It builds into a soaring drone. It good to hear black metal with plenty of guitar solos. They serve the song are are not distracting or overly flashy. These songs are well written and they waste little time with sprawling things out for the sake of atmosphere or cluttering the song with by forcing to many transitions into the composition. "Godhead" goes back to the blast with an almost Darkthrone like quality. They finally slow into the darker depths at the four and a half minute mark .The vocals take on a more sinister throat singing like chant in the songs closing moments.

"Forever Kingdom of Dirt" finds the vocals behind a filter of distortion and after a short burst of blast the tempo shifts around into a slower gallop. The bass emerges from the walls of guitar it is often buried behind. The double bass builds it back up , before dropping down into some tribal tom work. They duck in and out of grooves, through out this one defying traditional song structures. The guitar solo is well place in this one. He screams out about there being no future and nothing else to build on " Lost Communion" where a life time of mistakes is haunting him. Coming out of the faster opening verse they go into a gang vocal like chant  that is set against a more deliberate sonic texture of punches. The guitar tone gets really interesting on "Nuummite" with some almost gothy effects creating the atmosphere. I'm not surprised that the vocals are sung rather than screamed here. They are set back in the mix and under an effected filter.I'm pretty impressed by this album, there are a few moments when they blast beat a dead horse, but over all it's well written and compelling black metal American or otherwise. I'll give it a 9.5.