Angel Witch - Angel of Light (2019)^{Release ID: 13992}

I can't believe it's been over forty years since I first saw these guys (supporting Motörhead on one of their '78 or '79 tours if I remember rightly) as a trio (mainman Kevin Heybourne with bassist Kevin Riddles and drummer Dave Hogg [Day Vog]) playing what would become one of the most recognizable sounds of the NWOBHM. After providing the best track on the legendary Metal for Muthas comp, they released their 1980 eponymous debut, one of my all-time favourite albums. Unfortunately the rest of the 80s weren't kind to AW, constant personnel upheavals and a couple of lacklustre albums resulted in the band disappearing from view. Fast forward nearly three decades and The 'Witch released As Above, So Below a return to some kind of form and a shot in the arm for any long-standing fan of the band. So, here we are in 2019 and AW turn in their best and heaviest album since that seminal debut, more focussed than As Above, So Below and with a production job that would have absolutely killed forty years ago. This is hi-octane heavy metal and any band of young bucks would be proud to have put out an album as exhilharating as this, yet alone a band now well into their fifth decade! Long Live Metal!!