Jezebel Music is Sponsored by: Williamsburg's Gym 718.486.0630, Williamsburg		Monthly Feature. Assault Rock: Abigail Warchild Lovingly Pummels Its Audience November Feature 2007 Feature Article by Ben Krieger "Get On Board." A heavy drumbeat kicks in, then a distorted B4 organ droning away with its lower drawbars, then the foreshadowing "ka-chink-a-chinka" of an electric guitar. By the time vocalist Michael Sanders begins to shout into the microphone the listener is waiting for the inevitable twin-axe assault. When the Sabbath-heavy guitars finally kick in they're surprisingly tuneful, but this is first and foremost "assault rock." When Sanders states that he aims to hold the audience in the palm of his hand it's only half the story; he wants to smash them like a fly for 40 minutes of visceral emotion. Born in Boston about three years ago, the Warchild's lineup currently consists of Sanders, Sean Davenport (organ), Michael Hart (bass), Val Loper (guitar) and Michael Ushinski (drums). The current lineup has been playing for almost a year and has gained a reputation for ending its sets with way more fans than it did when the music started. Fueled by seeds of Sanders' material and a healthy desire to "outsweat each other" onstage, the band lives up to its name: muscular, tuneful songs that come across like battle cries. What exactly the band is fighting remains buried beneath the noise; while the group is happy if its audience catches on to some of the sociopolitical lyrics, there is no effort to indoctrinate the crowd. "[The songs] are not a lesson." Kafka and Howard Zinn just get them fired up, that’s all. Like many bands starting out, Abigail Warchild finds itself playing in smaller venues around the city and revels in the more difficult, claustrophobic situations. The band is at its best when it has something to butt its head against - some of the best shows have occurred under the "shittiest circumstances." The songs themselves are anchored by the rhythm section, Hart consciously trying to keep the band anchored during the moments when the guitarists burst into extended, J Mascis-inspired squalls of feedback. With the guitars leaping from order to chaos in the drop of a kick, Davenport's organ helps the band maintain an identifiable sound throughout the set. While Sanders may show up at practice with an almost-completed song, nothing makes the set list until everyone in the band has "had a whack at it." Ushinski is not the band's first drummer, but his addition has taken the band's sound to the next level and their 2006 recordings are quickly being rendered obsolete as Abigail Warchild gears up for a new record. Like their peers, the band rants about their day jobs and how they would like nothing more than to make a living without such burdens (though one gets a sense that such seemingly counterproductive constrictions actually fuel the Warchildren's aggression). Anna Lane, their friend and manager, takes care of as the business end while Hart uses his background in the arts to create the artwork that covers the band's website and CD booklets. The band is earning their following fan by fan with a core group of peers/supporters often in attendance at local shows. When the band hits the road, they are often playing to virgin ears, but that doesn't change their approach... or the end result. Davenport pinpoints the band's drive when he talks about the less-than inspiring experience he had in a previous group. "[During the live shows] people were falling asleep and I was too," he states. No more. At a recent show in Philadelphia, Abigail Warchild were the sandwiched, low-drawing out-of-towners, but the people who caught them had something to tell their friends who arrived for the following set: "You guys missed an awesome band."

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