Witchfinder General's "Death Penalty" vs Pagan Altar's self-titled demo

So I've decided to try a new conversation starter after enjoying Utopia Records' weekly DIS vs DAT thing on Facebook recently. Let's start off with two classic 1982 traditional doom metal releases from the NWOBHM. Which one do you think has the edge & why?

It's Pagan Altar for me, for one simple reason...atmosphere! There's something about Witchfinder General's Sabbath-worship that doesn't click for me. Zeeb's dodgy vocals certainly play a role, but there's also a silliness that pops up occasionally that bothers me. I mean, there's a whole section in Invisible Hate where he endlessly demands beer. Compare that to Pagan Altar's surprisingly Satanic black mass feel, and there's no doubt in my mind which band took the Sabbath doom blueprint and raised the bar. The title track and Judgement of the Dead are perfect examples of why Pagan Altar crush Witchfinder General into the dust (in my opinion).

I find this one a very difficult proposition to be honest. Neither record have made a particularly big impression on my life despite the fact that I find them both to be pretty enjoyable. Witchfinder General have the advantage in the riffs department of course however they do sound like a poor man's Black Sabbath most of the time. I love the challenging early 70’s progressive & psychedelic rock elements in Pagan Altar's sound as well as the more epic feel. The more expansive musicianship (particularly the guitar work of Alan Jones) gives Pagan Altar an edge over the much sloppier Witchfinder General sound too but interestingly it's the repetitive vocals on "Pagan Altar" that I struggle with rather than Zeeb's on "Death Penalty". Terry Jones sometimes sounds like he’s just singing the same phrase over & over again.

I think "Death Penalty" is the more consistent record however it doesn't have quite as many highlights as "Pagan Altar". Some of the remaining Pagan Altar material lacks the hooks that "Death Penalty" has though & the songs sometimes have a tendency to go past without leaving much of an impression even though I generally like what I’m hearing. The doomier moments on "Pagan Altar" are amazing for the time but there really isn’t a song which fully harnesses that sound without diluting it with more bouncy up-tempo material which is a real shame in my opinion. So I'm gonna go with "Death Penalty" by the barest of margins. Mainly due to the Pagan Altar record finishing with a nearly nine minute track that I find to be a bit disappointing.

Death Penalty  1 - Pagan Altar 1