Review by Denis on June 12, 2003.

What did the singer do to deserve this kind of treatment? He's screaming as if he was nailed on a cross and some creature was peeling off his skin! Poor guy! Charger's very first album will give you a hell of a shock. This is not for someone with fragile ears.

So much distortion can get on a man's nerves after a while. No attention has been made to make this recording a piece of art, production wise. Instead, a live sounding ambiance is offered.

And as far as the musical direction is concerned, well I think an attempt to blend together trash-black metal with doom-stoner parts could be a good way to describe the 'feel' of "Confessions of a Man (Mad Enough to Live Amongst Beasts)" a quite long title. Just like, the extended times of the tracks on "Confessions..." some lasting way too long in the 7-8-9 minutes range and pushing the limits to a 13 minute song is close torture when the musical quality is this mundane!

It's not too bad an album if you leave the poor singer and production aside and concentrate more on the heavy doom-stoner edge. Pieces being more attractive are 'God Made Us In The Image Of His Ass', track # 7 (no title) an instrumental and the best effort: 'Chide and Harmonies.'

The most solid points to the record are loud bass, good riffs but the guitars are not loud enough, drums lacking a bit of punch and way too high vocals with too much treble in them. The compositions are very similar, repetitive and go from trashy black to slower doom. This will work probably better for you black metal fans who like raunchy sounding work or the "true" style of bands like Darkthrone for instance.

Bottom Line: A head banging hit with pretty good stoner moments.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 6
Atmosphere: 6
Originality: 4
Production: 5
Overall: 5

Rating: 5.2 out of 10

Review by JD on January 15, 2012.

There always is a top dog, no matter what job or style of music you do, its just the way it works. In the Black Metal, it is no different and there is one that stands alone. Venom may be the classic figurehead in BM, not to mention the true innovators, but right now it is American Satanic warriors Abigail Williams who leads the bloodthirsty pack.

Symphonic to a point yet so inherently stark, haunting and raw in its approach, Abigail Williams has taken charge of the BM movement worldwide with talent and unbridled satanic venom. Combining their previous style into their newer style of bare boned BM it is that step forward in there development that have made them in a class all of themselves. Powerful and very blatant they are the best of what the genre has to offer and "Becoming" is the soundtrack for it.

With six monster songs offered up, this is a album that has balance and power in perfect sync. My favorite track is the haunting and illustrious epic of 'Beyond The Veil'. At seventeen and a half minutes, the song does not comes up being drawn out and boring as some do but this is a piece of epic music that does tell a very macabre story. That ebbs and flows as the listener gets into the story and propels you into that evil that lurks waiting for the unwary. From the haunting start to the powerful movements that leap out at you at every turn it is truly a perfect epic.

Say what you will about Black Metal and Abigail Williams, this album showcases both of the genre and band each in a new light. It shows how the whole BM scene has got this incredible collection of extraordinary visionaries and mind-blowing musicians that are putting out music that is simply as brilliant as it is dark and foreboding.

This is BM’s finest hour.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 9
Originality: 9
Overall: 10

Rating: 9.4 out of 10