Angel Witch - As Above, So Below

Published March 21 2012

*=Staff's pick	Dead Sea Scrolls* Into The Dark Gebura The Horla Witching Hour Upon This Cord Guillotine* Brainwashed

Genre	Heavy Metal	Kevin Heybourne	Vocals
Tracks	8	Kevin Heybourne	Guitar
Running time	50 Min.	-	Guitar
Label	Rise Above Records	Will Palmer	Bass
Release	12 March 2012	Andy Prestridge	Drums
Country	England	-	Keyboard
Producer	Jaime Gomez Arellano
Similar artists	Diamond Head, Anvil

As Above, So Below is the first Angel Witch album in 26 years, following up 1986's Frontal Assault. Main man Kevin Heybourne has split up and reformed the band countless times throughout the years but seems to have found harmony in the current line-up, which has lasted since the last reformation in 2009. Opening the album is the song Dead Sea Scrolls which is a pretty slow song with some really good melodies. Kevin's voice is still okay, although the 32 years since their debut haven't passed unnoticed.

The album continues in the same spirit with decent, but perhaps not brilliant, songs that seems to drag a little tempo-wise. Actually, I feel as if the entire album is sort of done in slow motion - every song seems to be in the mid-tempo segment and apart from some occasional adrenaline boosts I miss energetic, fast-paced songs like Angel Witch, Atlantis or Sweet Danger. Additionally, all the songs are around five to seven minutes long which seems to lower the tempo even further.

All-in-all, this is an okay album and if you're a fan of NWOBHM you should give it a listen - the riffs and the melodies are definitely there. It's great having Angel Witch recording albums again, but if they do another one I hope they turn the speed up a little.

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
6	5	6,5	5	6

Summary
6 chalices of 10 - Bjorn