Angel Witch, one of the earlier bands in the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, have returned after nearly fourteen years without a studio album. As Above, So Below is the bands fifth studio album and the follow-up to 1998s Resurrection.
track listing
1. Dead Sea Scrolls
2. Into The Dark
3. Guburah
4. The Hurla
5. Witching Hour
6. Upon This Cord
7. Guillotine
8. Brainwashed
Ever since I first heard Angel Witch I have been asking the same question: why is this band so obscure? there are very few people who know of Angel Witch and I think this is a shame as their debut album, Angel Witch, second album, Screamin' And Bleedin', and third album, Frontal Assault, are all very good so as you can imagine I was eagerly awaiting this new release
Dead Sea Scrolls is much what I was hoping for, smooth melodic riffs with the usual Angel Witch feel, the whole song has the usual energetic feel one hopes for in NWOBHM bands but doesn't feel retro or dated
Into The Dark continues the trend with melodic riffs, competent drumwork and the clean, but slightly monotonous vocals, this may be the only complaint for this song, it would help, in my opinion, if the vocalist had a broader range to his voice
Guburah is slightly heavier then the preceding two songs, still possessing some of the melody but just feeling thicker soundwise then either Into The Dark or Dead Sea Scrolls.
The Hurla starts cleanly and continues this way for the first two minutes before reaching a heavy passage which then reverts to the earlier clean passage, this trend repeats and the whole song is slower in tempo compared to the three prior to it, this tempo shifts at around five and a half minutes through the song shortly before the guitar solo, becoming more energetic
Witching Hour is much higher in tempo then the songs prior to it at first before settling into a mid paced riff for the first verse, however the tempo picks up again shortly after this. The alternation of tempo frequents this song before being broken by a brief melodic section leading into a new melodic section which includes a guitar solo
Upon This Cord begins with a clean section played under a very heavy riff, again melody is emphasized less on this song then on others without being absent entirely, overall the feel is more akin to classic Angel Witch tracks and unlike other tracks on the album, ultimately the song returns to the dischordant clean section from whence it came before fading out
Guillotine is more up-tempo then other songs on the album, a refreshing change of pace from the mid-range speed shown earlier in the album. the riffs are also thicker, heavier and, for the first time on the album, virtually devoid of melody, even the guitar solo is more of a shred then a melodious work like those earlier on the album
Brainwashed begins with a much more melodic section then just about any song on the album, a stark contrast to the previous song Guillotine, this opens into a high tempo thrash like riff before changing into the familiar Angel Witch quasi-melodic riff at a slightly slower tempo. The song slows right down in the chorus before jumping back into the thrash-like riff heard earlier leading into the second verse, after the second verse is a brief clean passage before a strange section somewhere between a guitar solo and a melody which leads back to the molidc section from the start of the song, then into the thrash-like section again
ultimately As Above, So Below is not what I expected. It is a good album, having several strong songs mostly in the latter half of the album, but does not fully meet my expectations, which is a shame really considering the bands previous work. it is a fun album, worth checking out but sadly won't amaze you and doesn't fully showcase Angel Witch's full potential quite like their early albums do.
Overall the album is solid, it doesn't have any real weaknesses, but has no real strengths either, if you are after the best album of 2012 this won't be it, but if you want a good album that has a nice mix of melodies and a lot of energy this may be worth checking out. Angel Witch - As Above, So Below gets a score of 4/5
