Where to start with a review for NWOBHM (New wave of British heavy metal) giants Angel Witch’s latest record. I think first a little history of these giants; though never rising to the heights of IRON MAIDEN or JUDAS PRIEST (although to those that might nitpick I know that Priest was around before the birth of NWOBHM) but for this purpose let’s just agree that they made their mark in this era. Founded in 1976 as Lucifer with Kevin Heybourne, Steve Jones and Rob Downing, they gigged up and down England until Steve Jones left to join THE Bruce Dickinson in his band SPEED. Enter Dave Hogg along with a name change and Angel Witch was born.
Now I’m in the age bracket that remembers not so much the first wave myself, but my brother going to the Neal Kay Soundhouse in Kingsbury (just down the road from where we lived) and he saw everyone from Maiden to Van Halen. So this music was imprinted in my very musical DNA. The things that make NWOBHM such an important movement for us who love the heavy side of life is that it was and is dirty, fast, aggressive, fun ROCK n ROLL on a LOW-FI budget. At the time we did not appreciate the recording style or the standards that these Guys and Girls were putting out.
Now as the years have moved on and recording is more a snapped to a grid digital process these recordings are standing out.
This leads me nicely to the band’s latest outing.
After 24 band member changes and one constant Kevin Heybourne on vocals, the band have released only their 5th studio album Angel of Light – their first studio recording in 7 years since As Above So Below. This is not such a big stretch as there were 26 years between that album and the one before.
Weighing in at 47 minutes and 40 seconds Angel of Light does not overstay its welcome and fits nicely on to the Vinyl format that thankfully is back. Now here we go as I mentioned before we live in the digital age and so music is now rightly or wrongly (no judgment here) is mastered for the *insert here* streaming option you choose.
And so I feel bands of Angel witch’s ilk suffer from the lack of grit and LOW-FI quality we love and hold onto from this the birth of modern heavy metal. This may be sentimental but I feel valid as this record skates by with a very clean and polished mix very much a sound of its time. This is not to say this is a record to avoid if you like their old sound – FAR from it. Firstly it has Kevin Heybourne on it (come on people who has not SANG out loud the whole of ANGEL WITCH from their self titled CLASSIC gem on Bronze records ( 1980). Guys, if you have not, I feel you should hand back your Metal members badge and sit in the naughty corner until you have – it has some very catchy songs on it. In particular, The Night is Calling (track 4) sounds (and this is a compliment to my ears at least) like the Tony Martin era Black Sabbath and I’m talking about Headless Cross and TYR. The title track Angel of Light holds well in the album but I feel that it would have served well with the song appearing earlier in the album – a traditional Angel Witch anthem. With the tracklisting as it is, by the time we get to Angel of Light the album is starting to drag a little because each song blends into the next. There are some schoolboy lyrical phrases on tracks like Death of Andromeda that grate a little. Overall it’s heavy and melodic and you can sing along to it which was one of the things that draw us to this Movement and bands that live within it.
So if you have a spare 47 mins and you want to headbang to songs that won’t challenge intellectually and want to bask in the glory of Kevin Heybourne’s remarkable voice, strong and unchanging even after 43 years, then this is for you. If you are after the sound you loved from those halcyon days of 76 to 80 (The NWOBHM years as we like to call them) then this is NOT for you.
I give it 3.5 Angels out of 5. Maybe an extra .5 for the cover.
Release Year: 2019
Label: Metal Blade
Category: Album
Country: UK
Reviewed by Tony Evans
