(On will release a new album by , and today we have ‘s interview of the band’s mainman .)

Q: “A Void Within Existence” marks the 6th album for Abigail Williams. What lessons have you learned since the first album that helped shape this one?

A: The biggest lesson is to stop trying to please anyone but yourself. Early on, I was always half aware of how a record would be received, but now I don’t care. That kind of freedom opened the door to something more honest and more extreme. Over time, I’ve learned to fully trust my instinct. I don’t second-guess the darkness, the stillness, or the chaos. If something feels real, I follow it—even if it leads somewhere uncomfortable.

Q: How have the different geographic locations you’ve lived in, from Phoenix to Olympia, shaped your music?

A: Environments leave scars. Phoenix was desolate and exposed. There’s something violent and isolating about that landscape. Olympia had this dense, suffocating forest energy. You don’t feel watched—you feel absorbed. That shift added a more atmospheric, ritualistic layer to the music written while I was living there. Honestly, I moved from Olympia years ago, but I’m still in the Pacific Northwest, so I haven’t bothered updating our location. Each city kind of acts like an egregore, yeah—you tune into a different current depending on where you are, and that current bleeds into the sound.

Q: There’s a much bigger sound on this album. Is that due to the new drummer or changes in how you approached the guitars?

A: It’s both. is a monster. His drumming isn’t just technically impressive; it has this mechanical elegance that raises the tension in the music. That said, he also played on the last album, so he’s not exactly new. But I recorded the guitars differently this time with more layers, more texture, more low-end power, without losing clarity. I used an 8-string guitar for most of the album. I wanted everything to feel like it was breathing, not just stacked for the sake of being heavy. The biggest factor, though, would be ’s mix. He pulled it all together.

Q: You use blast beats more selectively than most black metal bands. Was that influenced by other artists, or something that evolved naturally?

A: It evolved naturally. I love blast beats, but if you use them constantly, they lose their impact. I like tension and space. Let the blast be the blade, not the whole weapon. I’ve always been drawn to artists who understand dynamics, , Emperor, and even Neurosis. It’s about making the chaos hit harder by knowing when not to unleash it.

Q: The clean vocals on the final track stand out. What inspired that decision?

A: The album needed contrast. After all the dissonance and punishment, I wanted to pull the listener into something that felt almost beautiful but still broken. The sung vocals aren’t there to soothe. They make the weight of the harsh ones feel even heavier. That trade-off felt like a conversation between clarity and collapse. It was a risk, but it ended up being one of the most honest moments on the record.

Q: This album is darker and more atmospheric than ever. How important is sonic heaviness compared to traditional metal heaviness?

A: Sonic heaviness is everything. You can be the loudest band on Earth and still sound flat emotionally. Real heaviness comes from space, texture, repetition, and decay. I’m more interested in creating gravity than aggression. I want the sound to pull people under, not just hit them over the head.

Q: How do you think black metal has changed since Abigail Williams first emerged?

A: I haven’t thought about it much, and I’m not an authority on modern black metal. I stopped listening to most of it around ten years ago. That said, black metal has expanded and fractured in a good way. It’s not locked into a template anymore. People are taking risks, adding new emotions, and breaking rules. Some of it probably wouldn’t even be considered black metal anymore, and honestly, I don’t care. I don’t even really consider us black metal at this point. We use the tag for convenience. Of course, there’s still purism and nostalgia, but there’s also this open space now where black metal bleeds into ambient, industrial, doom, noise… That freedom keeps it alive. It keeps it dangerous.

Q: What do you do to recharge your creative energy?

A: Isolation. Nature. I tend to disappear when I’m not working on a record. I read, I walk—especially in dense forests where it’s quiet. I don’t listen to much music when I’m in that space. I try to let everything drain out so that when I come back to writing, it’s not from memory, it’s from instinct. I also like to drive a lot. Whether it’s my car or a motorcycle, I’m usually out cruising the back roads of the Pacific Northwest.

Q: Black metal often channels dark spirituality. How has that relationship evolved in your writing?

A: In the beginning, I thought about that a lot more, especially the darker side of it. Over time, I’ve lost interest in obsessively exploring that particular angle. It’ll always be there in some form because it’s been a part of me for so long, but now it’s more about disintegration, breaking down false versions of the self. I don’t write to glorify darkness. I write to understand it. To get closer to the truth that lives beneath all the noise. That’s a spiritual act, even if it’s not connected to any specific belief system.

Q: Any favorite black metal releases so far in 2025?

A: Honestly, I haven’t kept up. I haven’t checked out any new black metal albums this year. I tend not to listen to much black metal or extreme metal anymore. I focus more on making my own and listening to other styles of music. That said, there are always a few artists I’m curious to check out when the time’s right.

Q: Any touring plans for A Void Within Existence?

A: Yeah, there will be shows. We’re putting together something that reflects the atmosphere of the record. I don’t want it just to be a “setlist.” I want the performance to feel like stepping into the void we built with this album. More details soon.

https://agoniarecords.bandcamp.com/album/a-void-within-existence
https://www.agoniarecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/AbigailWilliamsBand
https://www.instagram.com/abigailwilliamsofficial/