Jesse Heikkinen, a veteran of the Finnish scene and solo artist Iterum Nata, have come together to form The Abbey. 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 mixture of deep doom and heavy rock.
The band’s debut album Word Of Sin is released via Season of Mist on 17 February and you can pre-order here.
“The album was made purely for self-expressive reasons,” says Heikkinen. “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 Abbey’s lineup is completed by Vesa Ranta (Sentenced, The Man-Eating Tree), and Janne Markus (The Man-Eating Tree). Take a look for the video for the track ‘Starless’ right here.
Word of Sin was recorded between April and November 2021 in several locations across Finland.
Tracklisting
01. Rat King
02. A Thousand Dead Witches
03. Crystallion
04. Starless
05. Desert Temple
06. Widow’s Will
07. Queen of Pain
08. Old Ones (Prequel)
09. Old Ones
