The band's name alludes to one of the key figures behind the Salem witch trials. How does the persona of Abigail Williams reflect the band's character today, after so many years of activity?

Honestly? The name means less to me now than it used to. It's become more "the name of the band I'm stuck with" than anything I actively think about. I've considered ending the project and starting something with a name that actually fits where we are now, but there are contractual realities that make that a lot messier than it sounds, so here we are.

Originally, though, it was a commentary on the role of the accuser and the mechanics of mass hysteria, and I think that scenario just keeps replaying itself in different forms.

Your lyrics often touch upon themes of emptiness, isolation, and human nature. Does writing about these dark aspects have a therapeutic effect for you?

It has, absolutely. I could write about other things, but they wouldn't fit the music the way this does because the two have to move together. And there's something in it for the listener too: if they're feeling something similar, there's a kind of solace in knowing someone else, me, has been there too.

There's also a thread I keep coming back to, almost without trying: a loss of innocence, or a nostalgia for something I never fully got to experience in the first place. Hard to explain exactly, but it's there in almost everything I write.

Many black metal bands turn to mythology, fantasy, or pure Satanism. You, however, stick closer to realism and existential darkness. Why do you find these seemingly down-to-earth themes more compelling?

The truth is I'm not interested in fantasy or Satanism at all. I was when I was younger, but I took a hard pivot there. So I just do what feels right and natural for me now, and I feel like people yearn for dark music that doesn't default to those topics and is more nuanced.

You've come a long way from the symphonic blackcore sound of "In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns" to the raw, atmospheric black metal of "Walk Beyond the Dark." Was this evolution a deliberate process, or a natural result of maturing as musicians?

It was 20 years ago when I wrote that music, so it has to be the case that I've matured as a musician. It would be very sad otherwise to not have done so. Having said that, I still hear some of the melodic and atmospheric elements we use now in moments on that album.

I'm curious — how would you describe Abigail Williams' sound to someone who has never heard your music? What words would you use?

Evolving. Song oriented. Atmosphere and heaviness in equal measure, and a blend of joy and sorrow that never quite resolves. Somewhere between raw and polished, as we've never wanted to fully commit to either.

Your sixth — and, for the time being, final — album, "A Void Within Existence," has been described by critics as bleaker than its predecessor. Was crafting such an intensely nihilistic concept — where, as you put it, "the self ends and the void begins" — emotionally more taxing for you than working on previous records?

It was taxing in some ways but also free flowing in other ways. Some things became agonizing and others came easy. I will say, we are working on another album right now, and I think it will be a good follow up to this one.

The mixing was handled by acclaimed engineer Dave Otero, known for his work with bands like Akhlys and Aborted. What specific kind of sonic space were you aiming for with "A Void Within Existence" — a soundscape that Dave helped you realize?

I just wanted it to sound like a wall of sound. I wanted it to be clean and precise but with elements of rawness, mix wise, which I knew Dave is fully capable of, and he delivered. I really like the work he has done with Akhlys over the years, and that was definitely something I kept in mind when I was deciding who to hand it over to.

Just a year after the album's release, you announced that the drum tracks for your seventh studio album were already fully recorded. Where does this massive surge of creativity and the rapid pace of work on the follow-up to "A Void Within Existence" come from?

It's always most inspiring right after releasing a new album, I think. The energy and excitement, but also the feeling of wanting to do something even better. I think it's just a matter of seizing the motivation and running with it. The last album actually started similarly, right after the release of "Walk Beyond the Dark," but the years of delay were for other reasons. The album sat around basically finished for years.

On a lighter note: if fate forced you to play just one concert in your lives — with the condition that you could only play cheerful songs — what musical genre would you choose to survive the torture?

I don't think it would be torture at all. I think I would choose to play with a power metal band in that case, and probably just play guitar.

And if the music from your last album were some kind of a dish, how would you describe its taste to entice potential listeners?

It'd be a very long tasting menu where every course is a different preparation of the same ingredient: absence. Cold starter, scorched main, and a dessert that tastes like something you remember from childhood but can't quite place. You leave the table emptier than you arrived, and strangely, you make another reservation.