I’m a fan of good cover designs, of covers that truly represent the music they are introducing, and the cover for the debut album Word of Sin by The Abbey definitely falls under that category. Held in black, tones of dark red and variations of patinated grey, the cover art by Alexander Reisfar does an excellent job in representing the album’s music and its themes. Apart from the colours which evoke dusk and night time, life and blood, decay and the past, there are various drawings establishing connections to religion, cults, magic, enlightenment, death, the horror genre, and last but not least to sacral architecture.
The Abbey are a new band from Finland lead by Jesse Heikkinen. The project is named after Aleister Crowley’s Abbey of Thelema which was situated in Sicily, Italy, and where Crowley systemised his ritual practices and trained followers. Esoteric organisations, their beliefs and practises serve as inspiration to Heikkinen, and he thought it only fitting that the founding father of modern occultism should be the source for the name of his new band and their album.
A veteran of the Finnish scene, Heikkinen has been and is involved in multiple projects and also does solo work, but this is his first engagement as lead vocalist. He doesn’t perform that role alone, however, but together with Natalie Koskinen (Shape of Despair). Like the front pair, the remaining three band members have years of experience under their belt and together the quintet do a very convincing job.
The music on Word of Sin is a mixture of doom, gothic metal and heavy rock, with allusions to psyche and 70s rock. The songs have complex structures, but are nevertheless melodic, easily approachable and memorable. Album opener Rat King sets the scene with dramatic heavy rock and double-vocal ritualistic chanting: “Let Thy Will be done / These Claws shall spare no one”. It’s going to be bloody! A Thousand Dead Witches continues similarly powerful and intriguing, telling a variation of the story of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, where a disciple puts himself at the mercy of spirits only to find out that the spirits have no mercy. Galloping drumming and fast riffs signal a ritual escaping control. Crystallion and Starless feature slower, mellower soundscapes, but not entirely without exciting guitars. With Desert Temple the tempo picks up again, and Widow’s Will brings the cleanest and most impressive display of Heikkinen’s vocal abilities, alongside a bit of pathos and more drama. After this, the Queen of Pain promises to give you discomfort, and then Old Ones: Prequel first generates a bit of folky, southern vibes, before album closer Old Ones, lasting almost 13 minutes, dishes up everything the band has got. The final number is a heavy metal opera, all in one track, with bells tolling, guitars soaring, fire burning and walls collapsing.
Dramatic and atmospheric, Word of Sin by The Abbey will appeal to fans of vintage rock, gothic literature, and 70s horror movies.
(7.5/10 Slavica)
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