The Abbey: A World Of Potential
The mind of Jesse Heikkinen seems to never rest. The multi-instrumentalist has spent a majority of musical career as a solo artist, penning a number of releases under the name of ITERUM NATA. However, his latest musical endeavour has seen the songwriter recruit some established Finnish musicians to form the progressive doom metal outfit THE ABBEY.
The band name is an ode to The Abbey of Thelema, the previous home of the infamous Aleister Crowley and the grounds for many of his most hedonistic forays. For a band with this kind of occult subject matter, there could be no more fitting name and the band’s debut full-length album Word Of Sin is rife with occult imagery. “I think the whole creative process for THE ABBEY has been a creative exorcism for me,” explains Heikkinen.“A lot of the lyrics are based on personal dreams that I have had, along with occult writers and film makers, it has been fun to explore.”
The formation of THE ABBEY was never part of the plan, in fact Heikkinen had no desire to front a doom metal band. However, as things began to take shape there was no hesitation in recruiting the immensely talented Natalie Koskinen to share the vocal duties, creating the rich harmonies that are such an integral piece of the sound of the group. “We took my initial vocal tracks, and wanted to work out what parts to leave and what parts Natalie could work her magic on,” elaborates Heikkinen. “She has such an incredible range that she was able to take certain parts and add a whole other dimension to them.”
A majority of the songs were born from Heikkinen’s own home demos, conceived during the years in the pandemic and were built upon by the other members once they began to take their shape. Despite the way that this may sound THE ABBEY is no dictatorship, and every member was afforded the opportunity to take their own instruments and make their parts their own. Jesse explains, “every player should be allowed to sound like themselves, I would never want to stifle someone else’s sense of expression,” and it is that whole sentiment that shows the decision on why he chose to surround himself with like-minded musicians. “What would the sense be in forming a band if it doesn’t end up sounding like a group of humans creating together?”
As for the future plans for the band things are in motion, yet nothing is cast in stone as of yet. There is a release show planned for the end of February in Oulu, the group’s hometown. Followed by some shows as direct support for their fellow countrymen INSOMNIUM at the prestigious Tavastia-Klubi venue in Helsinki. Despite no international shows being announced as of yet, the vocalist/guitarist is not ruling out some foreign escapades in the not-too-distant future as he concedes. “Originally the plan was to not tour excessively due to family commitments and logistical issues. However, that is no longer the case and we are looking to play as many shows as possible, aiming to get out on the international stage as soon as we can.”
With the band signed to the wonderful Season Of Mist record label, one of the few independent labels with sway on the international metal circuit it is safe to say that THE ABBEY is in good hands and it won’t be long before their stock rises significantly and armed with a debut as impressive as Word Of Sin the potential for the band is staggering.
Word Of Sin is out now via Season Of Mist.
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