Formed in 2016 as a shadowy single-man entity, Abduction have made astonishingly fast progress, carving a fearsome reputation for themselves as a standout act in an increasingly crowded extreme metal scene.
Performing alone in the early years – a rare sight, despite the many one-man bands in the genre – Abduction’s central protagonist A|V then expanded the band into a full live outfit, to better create intense, ritualistic and immersive performances, both at underground shows and larger festivals.
Cue the explosive Black Blood, Abduction’s most ambitious and rewarding album to date. Recorded – like its predecessor – by Ian Boult at Stuck on a Name Studios in Nottingham, this nightmarish yet entrancing listen is pushes Abduction into new territories without straying from their core sound. From the hypnotically earnest and haunting opener ‘In Exaltation of the Supreme Being’, to the expansive 11 minute epic ‘Plutonian Gate’, with its marked progressive and psychedelic overtones, to the blend of uncompromising stripped down black metal and slower, almost post-metal textures of ‘Psylocybic Death’, it is an intense and dynamic experience.
“I’m an avid listener of ‘raw’ black metal,” explains vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist A|V, “particularly the way that unintentional noise and lack of clarity can draw you in and provoke the imagination. On the other hand, the evolution of what Abduction has become requires something less indecipherable. With this record, I’ve implied a greater story, without explicitly describing each chapter.”
Thus Black Blood draws both from the band’s roots and new inspirations. The fact that members of British black metal bands The Sun’s Journey Through the Night and Revenant Marquis appear is a welcome nod to where Abduction come from, yet the fact that the band are atypical for a UKBM act – no rousing odes to England or 90's Scandinavian formulas here – is perhaps their most precious attribute. Their distinctive qualities have also earnt them a place on the roster of one of extreme metal’s most famous labels, Candlelight Records, a definite milestone.
“Before this album was recorded, I knew I wanted to step things up a few notches in terms of taking this vision to a wider audience,” A|V states. “Candlelight approached me – indirectly, as they didn’t know who I was behind the mask – and offered a deal that more than meets where I want to take this project. Rather than continue to exist in the well-established sphere I’ve grown comfortable in, I decided that now is the time to take a leap into the unknown. Much like the narratives of the songs, there is both trepidation and elation. Time will be the judge…”
Performing alone in the early years – a rare sight, despite the many one-man bands in the genre – Abduction’s central protagonist A|V then expanded the band into a full live outfit, to better create intense, ritualistic and immersive performances, both at underground shows and larger festivals.
Cue the explosive Black Blood, Abduction’s most ambitious and rewarding album to date. Recorded – like its predecessor – by Ian Boult at Stuck on a Name Studios in Nottingham, this nightmarish yet entrancing listen is pushes Abduction into new territories without straying from their core sound. From the hypnotically earnest and haunting opener ‘In Exaltation of the Supreme Being’, to the expansive 11 minute epic ‘Plutonian Gate’, with its marked progressive and psychedelic overtones, to the blend of uncompromising stripped down black metal and slower, almost post-metal textures of ‘Psylocybic Death’, it is an intense and dynamic experience.
“I’m an avid listener of ‘raw’ black metal,” explains vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist A|V, “particularly the way that unintentional noise and lack of clarity can draw you in and provoke the imagination. On the other hand, the evolution of what Abduction has become requires something less indecipherable. With this record, I’ve implied a greater story, without explicitly describing each chapter.”
Thus Black Blood draws both from the band’s roots and new inspirations. The fact that members of British black metal bands The Sun’s Journey Through the Night and Revenant Marquis appear is a welcome nod to where Abduction come from, yet the fact that the band are atypical for a UKBM act – no rousing odes to England or 90's Scandinavian formulas here – is perhaps their most precious attribute. Their distinctive qualities have also earnt them a place on the roster of one of extreme metal’s most famous labels, Candlelight Records, a definite milestone.
“Before this album was recorded, I knew I wanted to step things up a few notches in terms of taking this vision to a wider audience,” A|V states. “Candlelight approached me – indirectly, as they didn’t know who I was behind the mask – and offered a deal that more than meets where I want to take this project. Rather than continue to exist in the well-established sphere I’ve grown comfortable in, I decided that now is the time to take a leap into the unknown. Much like the narratives of the songs, there is both trepidation and elation. Time will be the judge…”