Abigail Williams "In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns"

Abigail Williams is an American extreme metal band, originally from Phoenix, Arizona, but now based in Olympia, Washington. Since their formation in 2004, the group has suffered near-constant changes to their line-up. The band even disbanded in 2007 for a short time before reforming and writing their debut full-length album.

In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns is the debut album by American black metal band Abigail Williams. It was released on October 28, 2008 on Candlelight Records. The album peaked at #35 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart.

The album was reissued on January 12, 2010 as a deluxe edition that included a second disc featuring five previously unreleased tracks. The vinyl pressing of the reissue was limited to 1,000 copies.

The album was produced by James Murphy (former guitarist of Death, Obituary, Testament, and Cancer). Trym Torson, of Emperor and Enslaved, played drums on the majority of the album, excluding the tracks "Floods," "Acolytes," and "Empyrean." Most of the songs were written by vocalist Ken Sorceron while the band was on hiatus in 2007. The album took more than six months to record.

Abigail Williams released the deluxe edition of In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns on January 12, 2010, which included a second disc featuring four new songs, one unreleased demo of "Floods," and the music video for "Into the Ashes." Demo versions of these tracks were made available on the digital download Tour 2009 EP, released November 9, 2009. The EP consisted of "I Am (God)," "In Death Comes the Great Silence," the instrumental "Waiting for the Rain," "Infernal Divide," and "Floods." The demo version of "Floods" was included on the new release because, as Sorceron stated, "it captures the vibe of the song better than the album track; perhaps due to the work of original drummer Zack Gibson."

Track listing

All tracks written by Ken Sorceron, except where noted.

1. "I" 0:39
2. "The World Beyond" Sorceron, Ellyllon 6:16
3. "Acolytes" Sorceron, Ellyllon 4:59
4. "A Thousand Suns" Sorceron, Ellyllon 5:08
5. "Into the Ashes" Sorceron, Ellyllon 4:38
6. "Smoke and Mirrors" 4:52
7. "A Semblance of Life" 2:06
8. "Empyrean: Into the Cold Wastes" Sorceron, Plaguehammer 6:15
9. "Floods" Sorceron, Ellyllon 5:47
10. "The Departure" Sorceron, Ellyllon 5:55

Released by Candlelight Records in USA (Cat. # CDL399CD)

UK and Japan: October, 20 (Cat. # CANDLE215CD)

A music video was made for the song "Into the Ashes"

Japan Bonus Tracks (taken from the "Legend" EP):

11. From A Buried Heart (04:13)

12. Like Carrion Birds (03:40)

13. The Conqueror Wyrm (04:21)

14. Watchtower (05:39)

15. Procession Of The Aeons (Demo) (03:47)

Recording information:

Trym's drums recorded at Akkerhuagen Lydstudio, Notodden, Norway.

Samus's drums recorded at Big Blue Meenie, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA.

Vocals recorded at Legacy Recording Studios, New York City, USA.

Everything else recorded at The Safehouse, Florida, USA, and Hollow Studio, New York City, USA.

Bjornthor is credited for guitars in the album notes, but doesn't actually perform on the album.