The Abbey, progressive doom newcomers featuring Natalie Koskinen (Shape of Despair), Jesse Heikkinen (Henget, Iterum Nata), Vesa Ranta (Sentenced, The Man-Eating Tree), and Janne Markus (The Man-Eating Tree), have revealed another haunting song, 'Starless'.

The track is the latest single from The Abbey's forthcoming debut LP, Word of Sin, released 17th February via Season of Mist.

Watch the video for 'Starless' here: https://youtu.be/Fez71gk9jTU

The Abbey comment on the offering: "It's the darkest song in the album, both musically and lyric-wise. Composed by guitarist Janne Markus, 'Starless' shows the heavier side of the band. The lyrics by singer Natalie Koskinen contemplate the inner emptiness and the loss of will to live."

In celebration of the news, The Abbey have launched pre-sales of the album, in CD and digital formats.

Vinyl will be released on 7th July, with pre-sales at a later date.

Pre-order Word of Sin on CD + digital here: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/TheAbbeyWOS
Pre-save Word of Sin on streaming services here: https://orcd.co/theabbeysin

Aleister Crowley is a legendary name. His Abbey of Thelema – located Sicily, Italy – functioned as ground zero for many of the occultist’s most complex and groundbreaking hedonistic pursuits.

One hundred years after Crowley’s eviction from the Abbey by Benito Mussolini’s regime, new progressive doom band The Abbey emerge with their debut album Word of Sin.

Jesse Heikkinen, a veteran of the Finnish scene and solo artist known as Iterum Nata, is the mainstay of The Abbey. Drawing lyrical inspiration from esoteric organisations, their beliefs and his own practices, Heikkinen and co-lead vocalist Natalie Koskinen (Shape of Despair) weaved ritualistic tales from the darkest corners of themselves to pair with music that is a provocative, alluring kaleidoscope of dark, heavy rock.

The Abbey's tale began when Heikkinen generated the sudden urge to try his hand at singing in a doom metal band after laying down guest vocals for fellow countrymen Fuzzifer. His idea was to form a doom metal band with “big vocals” — a project for fun’s sake that would thrive off writing from the heart and improvisation. Those plans involved former Sentenced and The Man-Eating Tree drummer Vesa Ranta — the first name that came to Heikkinen’s mind for the project.

Word of Sin was recorded between April and November 2021 in several locations across Finland. Drums, bass and Markus’s guitars were tracked at Kratio Studio in Oulu by Kyösti Rautio. Rautio also served as co-producer and mixed the album, becoming the unofficial sixth member of The Abbey. Heikkinen, who recorded most of his vocals and guitars in his stepdaughter’s room, surrounded by My Little Ponies, Disney figurines and a pile of esoteric literature, is careful to point out that The Abbey fails to drop into any neat, little subgenre.

“The album was made purely for self-expressive reasons,” he says. “My music is the channel where I can be as true and authentic as possible. It is also a somewhat safe way to explore and express the dark side of myself and the collective consciousness. Word of Sin may seem like a tremendously dark piece as a rock album, but it’s pretty lightweight for a doom metal album! The material proved so strong that it was obvious that it wasn’t going to be another side project. I think using the means of improvisation made the music sound more like its creator instead of it being forced to be this or that — and that seemed to work really well for us!”

The creative process behind Word of Sin proved so fruitful that the members of The Abbey are already thinking about a follow-up, a testament to the material’s inherent strength and the immediate bond between all five musicians.

The Abbey are:

Henri Arvola – Bass
Jesse Heikkinen – Guitar, keyboard, percussions, vocals
Natalie Koskinen – Vocals
Janne Markus – Guitar
Vesa Ranta – Drums

For more information:
https://www.facebook.com/abbeyceremonial
https://www.instagram.com/theabbeyceremonial

Progressive doom newcomers The Abbey release new single 'Starless'

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