The Abbey Sign to Season of Mist; Word of Sin Coming Soon
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 2nd, 2022 by JJ Koczan
The YouTube warning that comes up is all like, ‘hey, you don’t mind witchy boobs, do you?’ So it goes. The Abbey are a new project spearheaded by guitarist/vocalist Jesse Heikkinen and vocalist Natalie Koskinen, and the pedigree in the darker realms of progressive-ish metal go beyond the two of them as well. I get a strong codified The Devil’s Blood vibe from lead single “A Thousand Dead Witches,” in terms of what’s basically black metal-style riffing born again with cultish melody overtones, but in keeping with that, I wouldn’t expect the single to speak for the whole record.
The band just signed to Season of Mist, and while they’re established players who might draw some eyes and ears on name recognition alone, there’s still a feeling of the label taking on some element of risk in pushing essentially something completely new. Given that it’s Season of Mist, who’ve by now earned audience trust for decades, that’s a prospect more exciting than quizzical, but if you find yourself feeling like there’s nothing fresh or interesting happening, here’s one that might change your mind.
No announced release date yet for their debut album, which will be called Word of Sin, but I’m kind of assuming it’ll roll out in the Spring, and given the style, I wouldn’t be surprised if they showed up in the Roadburn lineup either, though of course that’s not anything close to confirmed. For all I actually know, they might not be interested in playing live at all.
The signing was heralded thusly by the PR wire:
THE ABBEY Signs to Season of Mist, Unveils Bewitching First Single + Music Video
Season of Mist is proud to announce the signing of THE ABBEY, the emerging progressive doom metal band ft. Natalie Koskinen (SHAPE OF DESPAIR), Jesse Heikkinen (HENGET, ITERUM NATA, etc), Vesa Ranta (SENTENCED, THE MAN-EATING TREE), and Janne Markus (THE MAN-EATING TREE)! In conjunction with the announcement, the band is now revealing their bewitching first single, “A Thousand Dead Witches,” along with a chilling music video that will certainly get you in the spirit of Samhain! The clip, which was directed by Ranta, can be seen at THIS LOCATION.
THE ABBEY comments on the signing, ” We feel honored and privileged to get to write a new chapter in the history of Season of Mist – a distinguished label that has the courage and vision to do something extraordinary. We do believe that the collaboration between Season of Mist and The Abbey is going to lead us to great things.”
Regarding the single, the band adds, “Our first single has all the basic The Abbey elements: big vocals, dissonant harmonies, hauntingly beautiful melodies and tempo changes. This is The Abbey’s ode against oppression and tyranny.”
“A Thousand Dead Witches” is taken from THE ABBEY’s upcoming debut album, ‘Word of Sin,’ which will be released next year via Season of Mist! The cover artwork can be found below while more information will be revealed soon!
In the meantime, pre-save the album across all streaming services HERE: https://orcd.co/theabbeysin
The artwork for ‘Word of Sin’ was created by Alexander Reisfar and can be found below! The tracklisting and additional info will be revealed at a later date!
Lineup:
Jesse Heikkinen – Guitar, keyboard, percussions, vocals
Natalie Koskinen – Vocals
Janne Markus – Guitar
Vesa Ranta – Drums
Henri Arvola – Bass
https://www.instagram.com/theabbeyceremonial/
https://www.facebook.com/abbeyceremonial
https://www.facebook.com/seasonofmistofficial
http://www.season-of-mist.com/
