The gloomy funeral ceremony ("Funeral") of Abigail LaFey is taking place - the first stillborn child on the seventh day of July 1777 - seven nefarious men must nail her into her coffin with 7 silver nails, one for each arm, hand, and knee, and the remaining around her mouth, so that she cannot rise again and cause more harm. Nearly 70 years have passed since Abigail's death, and a carriage accompanied by darkness arrives at a house on a hill ("The Arrival"), where Jonathan LaFey resides with his eighteen-year-old wife Miriam. John sees the seven horsemen arrive and is warned by them that it's time to leave to avoid the evil power of the mansion. However, John dismisses them and they leave, issuing a warning: "one day you will need us." John goes to sleep, and as soon as he extinguishes the last candle of the mansion, sly shadows creep along the walls ("A Mansion In Darkness"). Exhausted and unaware of what looms, the newlyweds fall asleep. However, the boy's sleep is quickly interrupted: the bed, despite the fire being lit, is freezing, and from the darkness appears the shadow of a man. It is Count LaFey, an ancestor of Jonathan ("The Family Ghost"), and he invites the young man to follow him to the crypt, where Abigail lies, because "it's time he knows." "Fear not, my friend, I am LaFey's spirit, and it's time for you to go to the crypt where Abigail rests, it's time for you to know." Guided by the ghost, the descendant discovers the tragic past: pointing to a sarcophagus, the shadow confesses to him that "Abigail has been here for years and years since her birth... but now her spirit is inside your wife and there's only one way to stop her return: you must kill her!"
Indeed, the story goes that Count LaFey, upon witnessing the infidelity of his pregnant wife, killed his sweet half-wife by throwing her down the stairs, ensuring that the fetus, which was named Abigail, was stillborn ("The 7th Day Of July 1777"). The situation is such that John's wife is pregnant and their child is soon to be born. Unfortunately, John has realized - albeit too late - the omens ("Omens") and the words of the horsemen and it's now too late since his wife is possessed ("The Possession"). He knows that the best thing would be to kill her, but he just can't. In a last and desperate attempt, he tries to communicate with his wife but receives only mockery from Abigail, who has now taken full possession of the girl's body. However, the threat of a priest who knows what to do opens a breach, and Miriam manages to speak to him, revealing the sad and inescapable ending that awaits: "our time is over. Remember: the stairs... it's the only way." Jonathan has decided, and with the intent to repeat the gesture of his ancestor, convinces Abigail/Miriam to follow him to the crypt, because "she is to be born there where she died in the past" ("Abigail"). John tries to kill her, but, distracted, he is thrown himself down the stairs, with his and his wife's death, who succumbs during childbirth. At the same moment of the double execution, the neighing of horses is heard, and the seven horsemen ("The Black Horsemen"), servants of the Count in the first murder, intervene, taking the newborn and bringing her to the chapel in the forest, where a coffin and a funeral ceremony await (and here we must take a great leap back and return to "Funeral").
As you might have guessed, Abigail is a stunning metal concept album where the horror themes so dear to our King Diamond blend with energy and creativity into the gothic fabric and black nuances of his music. Sure, one might argue that the story is not the most original, but it's an undeniable fact that the metal textures, like nowhere else, probably lend themselves to suffocating, emphasizing, and blurring the emotions proposed by the lyrics in a masterful manner under forms of eerie solos and vocals. We are faced with one of the most inspired songwritings and above all, an exquisite execution. Indeed, our King utilized musicians of the caliber of Mikkey Dee - Motörhead's drummer - and guitarists like Andy LaRoque (capable of producing a masterpiece like "Individual Thought Patterns" by Death played in a completely different way) and former Mercyful Fate member Michael Denner who succeeded in the praiseworthy task of imprinting technique, violence, hair-raising solos, fantastic and engaging rhythmic sections, all in an album where the chills are at hand right from the cover - a funeral carriage, in the dead of night, drawn by two dark steeds guided by two eerie figures with bowed heads, carrying a coffin to an unknown destination. On the record, King uses his typical falsetto at excellent levels, alternating it with croaky voices, clean vocals, and screamed vocals, deftly employing stylistic devices such as the whispering of key words of the text and the use of overlapping voices to further enhance the sinister atmosphere. Unexpected breaks, tempo changes, completely unpredictable structures, skillfully arranged solos that enrich the despair, fear, mystery contribute along with the aforementioned qualities of the work to making it not only one of the gems of King Diamond's discography but also one of the best concept albums in metal history.
In short, an incredible, technical, fluid, elegant, and evil work, not a single misplaced passage, truly magnificent and one of the few concepts that artfully meld text, music, and voice: a chilling story, an evocative and utterly believable voice, superlative music that you can't help but listen to in reverent silence, in the dark... Let the funeral ceremony begin!
See Ya!
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Funeral (01:30)
"We are gathered here tonight,
To lay to rest Abigail Le'Fey,
Whom we now know was first born dead
On the seventh day of July, 1777.
Abigail must be nailed to her coffin with seven silver spikes,
One through each arm, hand, and knee,
And let the last of the seven be drawn through her mouth
So that she may never arise and cause evil again.
Who will be the first?"
"I, O'Brian of the Black Horsemen...."
02 Arrival (05:26)
"That must be it!"
Through the summer rain of 1845
The coach had finally arrived.
To the valley where the crossroads meet below,
And where all darkness seems to grow.
People blame it on the Hill....
The hill where no one dares to go....
The Mansion...where no one dares to go.
The coach had stopped, and from the window you could see
Seven horsemen in the night.
Miriam Natias and Jonathan la Fey
Saw the magic in their eyes.
They were in for a surprise....
The darkness would soon be complete.
A horseman came forth from the dark....
"We know you've come to inherit what's yours...The Mansion.
Take our advise and go back on this night.
If you refuse 18 will become 9...Oh No!"
Oh 18 is 9!
Jonathan laughed and said, "Get out of my way.
I don't believe a word you say."
The seven horsemen disappeared into the night.
"Someday you'll need our help, my friend...."
I think poor Jonathan was scared....
18 is actually 9...It stuck in his mind....
06 Omens (03:56)
Nobody's inside the church, but the bell is ringing.
For no reason, the flowers are dying.
Oh, deadly Omens!
Oh, deadly Omens!
Inside the mansion, the air is unbearable -- a rotten smell.
In the dining room, the table is set for three.
Oh, deadly Omens!
Oh, deadly Omens!
"Miriam, come here and see what I've found. It's moving!
An empty cradle swaying in the air!
I did not bring it in here! Did you?!"
"No, no, no!"
Oh, deadly Omens!
Oh, deadly Omens
07 The Possession (03:26)
On the very next morning
When the mist was eaten away by the sun
Miriam grew hour by hour and
Jonathan he cried
He knew the ghost had been telling the truth
So this was 9
The pregnancy would not last overnight
Oh she started singing
A lullaby, rocking the cradle again
And then she said
I'm having Your baby my love...love
But it wasn't love, Oh no
She was possessed...and he knew
I will get what is rightfully mine
Speaking with different tongues
Miriam was eaten alive from inside
Again she said
I'm having Your baby my love...love
But it wasn't love, Oh no
She was possessed...possessed
08 Abigail (04:50)
"Abigail! I know you're in control of her brain, Abigail!
And I know that you're the one that's speaking through her,
Abigail!
Miriam, can you hear me??"
"I am alive inside your wife.
Miriam's dead. I am her head...."
"Abigail! Don't you think I know what you've done, Abigail?!
I'll get a priest! He will know how to get her soul back!"
"Oh, Jonathan! This is Miriam!
Our time is out!
Remember the stairs! It's the only way!"
"Abigail! Nothing I can do but give in, Abigail...."
"Jonathan, I agree.... Yes I do...."
"I am alive inside your wife.
Miriam's dead. I am her head....
Soon I'll be free!!!"
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