ABORT Magazine™

Album Review: Angel Witch – As Above, So Below

CD Review: Angel Witch
As Above, So Below
Metal Blade Records

A virtual revolving door of musicians, Angel Witch has been around in one form or another since the late 70′s. With approximately twenty eight different band members (current members: Kevin Heybourne, Will Palmer, Andrew Prestidge, and Bill Steer) between the past and present, great metal can little be expected, as one might expect it to come from bands with more steady members.

However, while Kevin Heybourne’s vocal stylings leave much to be desired, musicianship on As Above, So Below remains strong, and equally on par with that of earlier Angel Witch work. This is commendable, considering the band’s lack of stability. In particular, the soaring guitar work on “Dead Sea Scrolls” and “Into the Dark” stands out. Stranger titled tracks including “The Horla” and “Upon This Cord” are comparatively lackluster on the instrumental side of things.

Since As Above, So Below is still nearly an hour long with only eight tracks. Each individual track tends to take on an epic quality not found in shorter tunes, and this adds further opportunity for redemption; granting an excuse to listen to any given track multiple times. Indeed, “Brainwashed” comes off a bit, err, washed out upon first listen. Though truly not unlike a good whisky, given time, it opens up and invites the listener to make another visit – all the while proving itself to be a worthy track to grace (or perhaps a better word might be curse, all things considered) the listener’s ear.

This newest creation from Angel Witch is not likely to be on many top ten lists, nor is it likely to be called the best metal album of 2012, and so on. But, for all its glory and dullness alike, chances are it will still kick your ass.

myspace.com/youranangelwitch

By Chris Neuberger

WANT MORE ALBUM REVIEWS? CLICK HERE

Copyright © 2004-2012 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.

Comments are closed.