Witchfinder General - Friends of Hell (1983)^{Release ID: 6538}

1982's “Soviet Invasion!” E.P. from legendary NWOBHM doom merchants Witchfinder General had served as a welcome introduction to the lumbering beast that is the doom metal subgenre. However it was their “Death Penalty” album from later that year that saw the band making more substantial waves with underground metal fans the world over. It was a record that wasn't quite doomy enough to qualify as legitimate doom metal in my opinion, despite it’s strong following & reputation. Whilst I don't consider "Death Penalty" to be the classic release that it’s so often reported to be, I’ve always had some time for it; despite the fact that it was clearly more of a tribute to Black Sabbath than anything more significant or ground-breaking. So it remained to be seen whether Witchfinder General would be able to build on their early success by taking a more artistic view point & creating a sound of their own with subsequent releases.

Well, we wouldn’t have to wait long to find out as Witchfinder General’s sophomore effort “Friends Of Hell” would be released a year later in 1983. This time with a fuller lineup featuring an actual bass player rather than the imaginary one we heard on “Death Penalty” where guitarist Phil Cope filled that role under the name Wolfy Trope. Rod Hawkes was the name of the new recruit & I’m pleased to say that “Friends Of Hell” doesn’t suffer from the same production problems as “Death Penalty” where the bass was much too far back in the mix. This time the production has a decidedly more polished feel to it in general with every instrument sounding more vibrant & a little cleaner. The guitars in particular are no longer simply trying to replicate the Tony Iommi crunch & are a little less dirty here while vocalist Zeeb Parkes sounds significantly more professional too.

But it’s not just the production that’s improved. The band members musical abilities seem to have benefitted from another year of steady gigging with Zeeb’s performance being noticeably slicker & Phil Cope’s guitar solos achieving a significant jump in technical proficiency. The jerky transitions & cut-&-paste composition of “Death Penalty” have been improved upon here too. Musically, Witchfinder General haven’t tried to reinvent the wheel here as they still seem very committed to recreating the 70’s Black Sabbath sound however there are some note-worthy elements to the “Friends Of Hell” record that warrant discussion. Firstly, I’d suggest that even though it may not sound as heavy as “Death Penalty”, “Friends Of Hell” showcases a fair bit more of the traditional doom metal sound than it’s older brother. In fact, unlike “Death Penalty”, I’d go so far as to say that “Friends Of Hell” does enough in this area to be labelled as an actual doom metal record. But what it also does is explore some more commercially accessible ideas which kinda cancel out the effect to an extent.

The almost disco feel & ridiculously dumb lyrics of the single “Music” & the weak & soppy love ballad “I Lost You” really get on my nerves & unfortunately the stronger tracks just aren’t strong enough to cover my disappointment. Of the eight tracks on offer here I only find myself to be fully engaged during three & none of them blow me away to be honest. You can hear the band attempting to implement more expansive arrangements on some tracks with additional instrumentation thrown into the mix here & there but the more groovy stoner feel to some of the material has never been something I’ve had much love for.

As a result, I’ve always found “Friends Of Hell” to be an overrated & disappointing release that does nothing to enlighten me as to why Witchfinder General seem to be held in such high esteem by doom tragics the world over. They may well have been amongst the earliest exponents of this sound but I simply can’t justify the heavy praise they receive because there were so many bands that did this sound much better; albeit a little later in the game. Sadly, Witchfinder General called it quits the following year in 1984 although there was a brief & fairly unsuccessful reformation attempt made without the involvement of vocalist Zeeb Parkes in 2007 which resulted in a disappointing third studio album in 2008. 

Despite being generally well received by fans, I'd recommend that you give "Friends Of Hell" a miss & go straight for the more highly celebrated "Death Penalty" record which will almost certainly make a better account of itself.