652. Angel Witch / As Above, So Below. 2012. 2.5/5

Having finally made the effort to search out and discover what everyone had been talking about in regards to Angel Witch and their early recordings, I decided that my enjoyment of that should allow me to pursue their most recent release, to see what the fullness of time has done in regards to their music.
The first thing I noticed when I first put this album on was that it was certainly more melodic than the only other album I have heard of theirs, which was their eponymous titled debut. After a few listens, I felt that it sounds as though it is trying to be bigger and on a broader scale than it has to be. In the end, it feels as though songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Kevin Heybourne is trying to reinvent the wheel, by making a grandiose statement about the bands music that, realistically, probably doesn't need to be done. Honestly, thirty years on from their excellent debut, and with not a whole lot of recorded material in between, and with so many bands competing for your dollar, maybe they have just tried a little too hard to make something special.

That is not to slam dunk the whole album. Openers "Dead Sea Scrolls" and "Into the Dark" are good songs. The slower, monotonic wailing of "The Horla" seems to drag out forever - dare I say it - like 2012 vintage Queensryche, until it finally kicks into gear towards the end of the song. It misses its mark with me I'm afraid. It suffers, as do most of the songs here, from being just a little long in length without being able to hold your full attention for the time span. This is especially true of "Witching Hour" and "Upon This Cord", you find yourself drifting away from the music when they are playing. "Guillotine" and "Brainwashed" are arguably the best two songs on the album here, closing out the disc in the best way possible.

There is no need to try and defend the album. It sounds great, and is played excellently. Kevin's voice has held up well over the years, though there is little to zero screams here in these songs to extend his range. It almost sounds like it wants to be a rock opera, which is about as far away as I would have expected this album to be. If you can move past the attempts at trying to create an emotive atmosphere, and enjoy the parts where the guitars and drums step up a notch to create that classic metal sound, then you will be able to enjoy this more than those who can't. In the long run, while I can see plenty of promise in this, overall it just doesn't quite reach the best conclusion.