ANGEL WITCH – “AS ABOVE, SO BELOW”

Metal Church - The Present Wasteland

RISE ABOVE (2012)

It really is no exaggeration to say that London-based NWOBHM combo
Angel Witch is one truly unique band. Having formed back in 1977 (under
the moniker “Lucifer”) by guitarist/vocalist Kevin Heybourne, Angel
Witch went through quite a decent number of line up changes prior to
releasing their 1980 classic opus “Angel Witch” – an album whose power
and influence was such that it granted the band legendary status but
also an album which, according to many fans and media reps, has not been
surpassed to date by Heybourne and his numerous collaborators.

The band’s story becomes ever so comlplicated as the years go by and even
though quite a few releases managed to see the light of day along the
way, the last studio offering was back in 1986 – a nine track album
entitled “Frontal Assault”. Twenty five years later (!) and featuring
yet another new line up, Angel Witch are about to finally release their
fourth full length album “As Above, So Below” and the one thing that I
am sure most of you are wondering, as I certainly did, is whether this
is still a band whose work is worthy of attention from fans and media
alike.

The short answer to that question is a confident “yes”, as Angel
Witch have managed to bring to life eight classic-sounding compositions
which, at the same time, come across as quite relevant, courtesy of a
powerful crispy sound and of a, at times, more ‘unconventional’ approach
to song-writing.

I hope that the previous sentence did not put off any
of the band’s older fans as you should still expect compositions with
massive meaty riffs, especially now that Bill Steer (Firebird,
ex-Carcass) is part of the picture, bringing, together with mainman
Kevin Heybourne, a new lease of life to the Maiden-esque harmonic
passages and twin guitar themes which characterise the band’s style and
are present throughout the album.

Will Palmer’s contribution on the album is of equal importance as there were quite a few occasions when his melodic bass lines, together with cleverly-crafted background
keyboard themes, enhanced the epic atmosphere that this album so openly
conveys. Good stuff, right?

If you find yourself lacking a connection with “As Above, So Below”
after the first couple of spins I urge you not to lose faith in it as
this album is what you can describe as a ‘grower’ and it will not be
long before you start to appreciate the beautiful guitar harmonies and
flamoboyant solos of the opening track “Dead Sea Scrolls” or the
Maiden-sounding riffs of “Into The Dark”.

“Gebura” is a very unusual composition – straightforward riffs pave the way for Kevin Heybourne’s lead vocals which, as in the case of “Upon This Cord”, sounds slightly
off key and somewhat off putting –until you start to realise that these
discordant themes are actually quite catchy and memorable! Both “The
Horla” and “Witching Hour” find Angel Witch sounding more urgent and
epic than ever, with some trully massive riffs and atmospheric
acoustic/harmonic guitar melodies, while the seven minute “Guillotine”
is an old-school riff-orientated composition that will certainly appeal
to the band’s older supporters.

The best song of this impressive album is left to the very end and is entitled “Brainwashed”. This is a seven minute head-banging opus with riffs influenced by the likes of Mercyful Fate and awesome lead melodies/solos – a perfect way to end this quite
impressive release.

I had the pleasure of watching Angel Witch at last year’s Hellfest
performing some of their classic material with the new line up and I
remember being quite taken aback by how tight and harmonious they looked
on stage.

I get the same feeling when listening to these eight new
compositions. For a band that has not released a studio album for the
past twenty five years, Angel Witch have done enormously well and the
only reason why they did not get a higher rating than four starts is
because the small gap between the ‘great’ and the ‘good’ compositions of
the album is, at times, fairly detectable. Welcome back, Angel Witch –
we hope that you will stay longer with us this time round!

John Stefanis

Rating: **** (4.0/5.0)

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

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