CoC : Abigail - Sonnets : Review

Abigail - _Sonnets_
(Bestial, 1998)
by: Brian Meloon (8 out of 10)

Not to be confused with the Japanese band of the same name, this Abigail plays gothic, gloomy doom/death, and they do it well. Their sound reminds me of early Septic Flesh and Katatonia ("Love of the Swan" from the WAR compilation). It has some gothic influences, but not as much as on _The Ophidian Wheel_. The playing is generally very good, but the guitar solos seem to be a weak point. The music shows a good range of tempos and textures; there's enough variation to keep the music interesting, even though it's slow. The vocals are mostly death grunts, but they use some clean vocals also. Keyboards are used frequently, but they aren't overused -- they're mainly used for accompaniment. The production is a little disappointing, as it appears to have been mastered too loud -- there is a noticeable distortion in the music. It isn't really noticeable in the heavy parts, but takes away from the clean parts a lot. Overall, this is quite an impressive album, and I hope to hear more from these guys.

(article published 1/9/1998)

CHATS
1/16/1999	A Cantwell	Abigail: A Different Shade of Sonnet

ALBUMS
7/3/2002	Q Kalis	8	Abigail - Welcome All Hell Fuckers