Band:	Angel Witch
Album:	Angel Of Light
Style:	Heavy metal
Release date:	November 2019

01. Don't Turn Your Back
02. Death From Andromeda
03. We Are Damned
04. The Night Is Calling
05. Condemned
06. Window Of Despair
07. I Am Infamy
08. Angel Of Light

Despite not being the most famous act from the NWOBHM era, Angel Witch is a well-respected band among metalheads and metal musicians. Angel Of Light comes seven years after their resurrection album, As Above, So Below and it is an improvement on it in almost every department.

Angel Witch is the brainchild of guitarist/vocalist Kevin Heybourne, whose ability to craft razorsharp and memorable riffs has always been admirable, and his nostalgic-sounding voice is a joy to listen to. Angel Of Light is a very strong release for the band and this is obvious from the very beginning with the fiery introduction of "Don't Turn Your Back", which is the greatest opener they have had since "Angel Witch" and those of you who know that iconic song (is there really anyone here who doesn't?) can understand what a bold statement this is.

While exploring the rest of the album, you will generally find infectious guitars aplenty, like in the outro of "Death From Andromeda", the opening of "We Are Damned" or the solo of "I Am Infamy". Anthemic, sing-along choruses, again on "Don't Turn Your Back" and "We Are Damned", as well as on "Condemned", are sure to please any fan of the style. Another song that deserves extra praise is "The Night Is Calling". It is a ballad, Angel Witch-style, with acoustic guitars, doomy riffs, a "Kashmir"-esque part somewhere in the middle followed by an explosive riff, all in the same song, which previously existed only as a rare bootlegged live version (but enough to inspire the young Leif Edling to cover it in his pre-Candlemass band, Nemesis). No wonder that this track and "Don't Turn Your Back" are the album's highlights; they only now got a studio recording but both date back to the '80s and score high on the retro-love-metre. And it is a fact that Kevin Heybourne tried to embrace the glory of the past, going as far as to lay down his parts using the Marshall JMP amp head that he employed for Angel Witch's self-titled debut.

And this brings us to one of the album's weaknesses. The band didn't collaborate with Jaime Gomez Arellano (producer of As Above, So Below), who is renowned for his more organic-sounding work, but they went for an even more vintage recording. The result is not as successful and engaging as the one that Satan had in their latest release for example; the cymbals especially do my head in, sounding at times like the jingles of a tambourine.

Another point of criticism, albeit a minor one, is that the songs are slightly longer than what you'd expect from a traditional heavy metal album and this can probably be attributed to the inclusion of more doomy parts, but the prolonged duration is not always justified. This is mainly noticed in the last third of Angel Of Light, with the final three tracks being somewhat inferior to the first five.

Shortcomings aside, Angel Of Light is classic Angel Witch, full of hooks and superior to its predecessor on every aspect but the production. It finds Mr. Heybourne at an inspired time of his life and, with all these new bands trying to recreate the traditional metal sound, it's nice to see Angel Witch alive and kicking, and demonstrating how it's properly done.

"Don't turn your back
Don't turn the page
For there is strength in ancient ways"