Abigail Williams

Start a band, post music on MySpace, and get a record deal. Isn't that how it works? Not quite, but that's what happened when Earache Records grindcore mogul Lee Barrett discovered Abigail Williams' fan-bloated MySpace page. The result: Barrett quickly ushered the local death metal hellions (named after the McCarthy-like character from The Crucible) to Candlelight Records, which will release AW's first CD in 2006. Metal vet James Murphy (Testament, Death) is already on board to produce it. Ken Rothschild, AW's guitarist and songwriter, assembled players from veteran AZ metal act Vehemence (Metal Blade Records) and added classical keyboard juggernaut Ashley Jurgemeyer to create a punishing yet melodic hybrid of black metal that crisscrosses between Dimmu Borgir and At the Gates. Tearing screams, Beelzebubbish roars and symphonic keyboard arrangements all swirl over machine-gun beats and lashing guitars to create what sounds like the beginning of the end of the world.