Angel Witch's debut is one of my all time favorite albums and my favorite among NWOBHM albums. Kevin Heybourne has such a unique guitar sound and his vocal delivery matches the overall vibe of the debut. If I remember correctly reading liner notes Kevin had a cool amplifier set up running loops with tubes. My rankings... 1. Angel Witch 2. As Above, So Below 3. Angel of Light 4. Screamin' n' Bleedin' 5. Frontal Assault
Angel Witch As Above, So Below Angel of Light These are the best albums by Angel Witch, true legends of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Their original work was pretty good, and definitely unique sounding. The later releases aren't bad, but there is something missing in the vibe. I think it is a certain ethereal feel in the production of the NWOBHM era stuff.
The self-titled debut album ranks at the top of every NWOBHM list I ever make. After that I'd rank them as.. 2. SCREAMIN' N' BLEEDIN' 3. AS ABOVE SO BELOW 4. ANGEL OF LIGHT 5. FRONTAL ASSAULT But really, it's impossible to rate the remaining four against each other. The whole catalog is stellar IMHO. Each album has it's own merit. The two Dave Tattum albums take some getting used to due to the change in vocalist and songwriting style. Tattum wasn' even supposed to take over on vocals according to an interview I read a while back. He was friends with the new drummer, Spencer Hollman and was helping him as a drum tech. Kevin Haybourne was having vocal problems as he wasn't a trained singer and he was tearing up his throat. Tattum had trained for some time and was asked to give it a go just for the heck of it. They liked the sound and he joined the band.
their Debut was for me heavier than Iron maiden' s 1st album. Angel Witch deserved more recognition. Saxon and Angel witch were so underrated and still are
I love, in the summer, getting buzzed after work on a Friday…. and laying down in bed and putting ANGEL WITCH on - to pass out to. They were dark and haunting and fun.
Yeh that made my day another rank them all, no youtube notification ... I was watching your old video ... Good stuff !!!! there's a reprint of their debut album on vinyl coming out next week !
Yesss I love first album and Venom,Witchfinder general plus Angel Witch are the most perfect example of formuła about chip LO fi recording and production because that bands made fantastic songs and albums. Any way this is hillarious how many bands in early 80 made oryginal sophistic and priceless masterpieces of heavy metal.. Good job and see you next time. Keep strong and keep axe still sharp.. Slava
I used to listen to Angel Witch back in the 80s. A few years ago I saw Maiden and Thin Lizzy and I was shocked to hear the title track, Angel Witch over the PA between bands as I didn't realize that anyone ever heard of them.
I've been listening to a lot of NWOBHM recently and this came at the right time, awesome video as always! Angel Witch are one of my favourite bands from this era, I'm lucky enough to have a dad who got into Sabbath, etc and the NWOBHM scene as it happened, so I got to hear some amazing music growing up!
Good ranking,man! Great band and criminally underrated for sure. I love all Angel Witch records,they've never put out a bad album in my opinion. It's a shame they have made only 5 albums and I hope we don't have to wait a long time for another one. My list: 1). Angel Witch 2). Angel of Light 3). As Above,So Below 4). Screamin' N' Bleedin' 5). Frontal Assault
When I was at college in 1990, a fellow student loaned me a cassette he had taped of an episode of a syndicated metal radio show called "Root of All Evil." There were two standout songs on the tape. Unfortunately, the recording cut off before the host mentioned their titles. One was a thrasher with lines about "Bazookas and shrapnel, machine guns, landmines." I still haven't figured out the name of that song or band. If anyone recognizes the lyrics and knows who it is, please let me know. Thanks. But I eventually learned the name of the other song about eight years later when it was covered by a death metal band called Six Feet Under. The song was titled "Confused." I learned that the original (which I had heard on my classmate's tape) was from Angel Witch's self-titled debut album. To this day, that song is one of my absolute favorite metal songs!
If you enjoyed the video then make sure to smash that LIKE button 👍 and don't forget to SUBSCRIBE 🔔 if you're new! 🔴 Patreon & Discord: www.patreon.com/user?u=54741783 💲 Donate: streamelements.com/ruthlessmetal/tip 💳 Ruthless Merch: merch.streamelements.com/ruthlessmetal 📘 Facebook: facebook.com/groups/176669589198816 🐦 Twitter: twitter.com/JimRuthless 🤘 Spotify: open.spotify.com/user/nla1154q1kamkscnp5z1d79h3?si=K1ujpPh_SLujafZ_WUHFwQ Stay Heavy! 🤘
Great ranking! I do own only 3 of their albums (the 2 mid eighties albums are very rare) but would agree with you that the are one of the best NWOBHM bands out there and are one of the few that still have strong material today next to Saxon and Satan. 3. Angel of Light: Love "Condemed" and "We are Damned", some songs are a bit long and repetetive but I love Kevin's guitar and vocals. He still sounds like all those years ago. 2. As Above, So Below: Really listened a lot to this one when it came out. "The Horla" is my favourite but all the songs are great. 1. Angel Witch: Such a fantastic record! Easily one of the Top-3 of NWOBH albums. Love "Free Man", one of the best songs of all time. The lyrics and the bluesy guitar solo always get to me. The title track is also an absolute classic. But love all of it! Glad to have it on vinyl as well.
Love their first album to death, one of my fave nwobhm albums. lt’s so good and unique, that l don’t really care for their other albums, while they’re certainly not bad at all. Also love the artwork, painter of apocalyptic landscapes John Martin, painted about 2 centuries ago. lt really amplifies the impact of the music.
Fun Fact The Self entitled title track from Angels Witch first Albums was played on the BBC Radio but it was slower and had different lyrics after a bit :)
Love Angel Witch! Late to the party though, only gotten into them in the last 2 - 3 years , after I saw a review of Angel Of Light. I can’t comment on the two 80’s albums with the other singer, haven’t heard them but have the debut, As Above So Below and AOL all on vinyl and agree with the rankings you gave them relaying to the three. You mentioned the early demos and ep’s, I also have The Seventies Tapes on vinyl which I highly recommend.
Hugely influential and underrated band. I can listend to their debut album all day. Thrash and extreme metal definitely owe a lot to this band for helping lay the groundwork for their later movements.
I love the last 2 albums. I really have a dejavu feeling, like I've been listening them for 20+ years. Quite odd, since they were release just a few years ago.
Fans need to check out Angel Witch - "Resurrection" released in 2003 by Mausoleum Records. It contains demo recordings of 90's material & is absolutely killer. \m/
1. Angel Witch 2. As Above, So Below 3. Screamin' N' Bleedin' 4. Angel of Light 5. Frontal Assault Pretty much the same as your ranking! All of them are great though! And one of my favorite new wave of British heavy metal bands for sure!
This is one band I somehow never listened to. I definitely heard about them and knew they were influential to a lot of other bands but I guess they just slipped through the cracks. It sucks that RU-vid is so ridiculous about copyright, it would be awesome to have sound clips to go with these videos.
yeah, it sucks that there aren't any clear lines, sometimes you can play 5 seconds of a song other times youcan't play even a second. Angel Witch debut is one of the absolute best metal albums of all time, you need it in your life! Cheers!
Love this band to death and if you think about it i think Angel Witch was the first band that used Baphomet on the album cover along with Witchfynde wich was even before Venom. I dare to say this is a starting point to black metal.
Angel Witch - White Witch, Angel of Death, and Baphomet ( Baphamet on Metal For Muthas. Kevin Heybourne joined Blind Fury for a week . Do you know if the song Sorceress is The Sorcerers or Sorcerers? Was the debut album a victim of the same curse as fate as Mercyful Fate - Welcome Princess of Hell, Welcome Princes of Hell? Angel Witch, and the other 2 Witch bands have always been my favorite NWOBHM bands, I used to own both Tatum Witch albums, they didn't sound like Angel Witch to me . Tatum upper register chest Voice high baritone Vocals just seemed to strip the music of what little energy it could have contained. He sounded more like he should have been fronting AH HA . U2 , Or Simple Minds than a Heavy Metal band, and his goofy looking ball cap destroyed whatever mystical imagery the band once had
The self titled album is amazing. Since you mentioned Maiden and Saxon... To me, Iron Maiden's 80s output is definitely better if you ask me, but it's still well worthy of being mentioned in the same breath. And yes, it's better tham Saxon. As Above, So Below is definitely my favorite heavy metal album of 2012. Upon This Chord also deserves a mention. That chorus riff is pure fire! I hope that a Satan discography ranking isn't too far away...
Love the first album. Though I think much of it's charm / underground feel comes from clumsiness. Or incompetence, to put it slightly less friendly. Anyway, Ethel The Frog sound weirderdest. So they're the NWOBHM champion.
I was 14 when this was released : I remember listening for a short time and then moving on to Venom , Maiden , Saxon and the rest I recall this not being given a big push in my music circle @ the time because of the vocals : Now I love the music - definitely ahead of others in 1980: but I just didn’t care for the vocals….. not they were bad - they just ; to me didn’t seem to fit : Heybournes vocals are good However for a heavy band that was breaking significant ground at the time were melodic for this ….. Plus their debut being the only release for 5 years didn’t help matters : it’s a great album musically: Kevin’s vocals just seemed better suited elsewhere
Great Band. So sad, that they released not more material. I really like the vocals of Dave Tattum, but the production of "Frontal Assault" is bad. "Screamin`n bleedin" is totally underrated.
yeah, whenever I feel like going through 25 albums a few times again. it will take weeks to come up with a proper list. especially since I haven't listened that much to some of their later albums. Cheers!
@@RuthlessMetalYT I agree, especially when all those albums sound so much alike and many of them more or less of equal quality. Motorhead and Saxon rarely ever switched up their sound and style.
Heh, I just listened to their entire discography a few weeks ago. My rating would be: 5. As Above, So Below Entirely forgettable, bland and lethargic. The hyper-polished production doesn't help the matters at all. No songs are bad, but no songs are particularly interesting, either. Guillotine is just a renamed and rerecorded version of Rendezvous with the Blade, and is inferior to that one. 4. Angel of Light The opener, Don't Turn Your Back is easily one of the best Angel Witch songs ever written, second only to Angel Witch. Other songs are either good or boring. 3. Frontal Assault I honestly don't get the bashing of this one. Dream World, Religion, She Don't Lie, Take to the Wing are great songs, among others. 2. Screamin' n' Bleedin' Amazing album, with a great, epic atmosphere and highly energetic riffing. Although I can live without that instrumental at the end (U.X.V.) 1.Angel Witch One of the best NWOBHM albums ever written. No need to say anything else.
Den sämsta skivan är bättre än många andra bands 2a 3a inget de gjort är i närheten av dåligt och 1a är magisk och instrumental för extremare Metal. Underskattat band så in i helvete. 1a skivan kan jag vissa dagar sätta på repeat och bara lyssna igenom 6-7 gånger så jävla bra.
Nope, I haven't, the problem with those NWOBHM bands, people aren't interested in them. My Angel Witch and Diamond Head rank has been amongst my least viewed videos. So we'll see if I ever rank those. Great bands though.
It is funny that you mention Angel Witch could be big in NWOBHM scenario. This band is too Hard rock for that, at the end it all can be resumed to Iron Maiden and Judas Priest for Hard rock I prefer Deep Purple, Whitesnake...
I don't think angel witch were hard rock, they are a solid metal band and they always was, plus they were there at the beginning, but lineup changes killed the momentum. Cheers!
@@RuthlessMetalYT Solid!? No way they range from classic rock to thrash but essentially that clapping hands on their title track and so many soft stuff on the songs mixed with gloomy parts set them way from leading
yeah, but you can't say that angel witch is more hard rock than anything else that was going on around the same time that album came out, it's actually pretty heavy for 1980.
I honestly don't know how you could rank As Above So Below higher than Screaming and Bleeding. Screaming and Bleeding a much better album, As Above So Below doesn't even sound like thrash to me.
