Angel Witch - As Above, So Below

Angel Witch

As Above, So Below

2012 Metal Blade Records
I think for a lot of people, including myself, this album came as a complete surprise. If you look at the backcatalog of Angel Witch, you'll find that there's only a couple of studio albums, a few rarities and demo collections, and a whole slew of live albums. I can't fathom why this is the case, and the only thought I have on the matter is that when your debut album comes as close to NWOBHM perfection as Angel Witch's does... well, where do you go next?  But all that aside, here we are with this release that came at us out of left field, and I'm damn glad to own a copy. The simple fact is that all eight songs here are in the classic Angel Witch style, and I think any of them would not have been out of place on their fabled debut. I really don't know how any band could manage to do that, unless these songs were all written a long time ago and only recently released from the vault. I seriously doubt that's the case, but after Sodom put out "The Final Sign of Evil" with several never-before-heard tracks from their earliest days, I suppose anything is possible. Well, whatever the case may be, I'm enjoying the album a lot, and I hope Kevin Heybourne and company don't take another twenty some-odd years to do another one.

Blood Mortized - The Key to a Black Heart

Blood Mortized

The Key to a Black Heart
2012 F.D.A. Rekotz
For me at least, the debut album from Blood Mortized was the true sleeper hit of 2009. It was very quietly released, and I think I took a chance on it when I saw it listed in a distro. Old school Swedish death metal, done by guys about my age, who were around for the original glory days of the Stockholm scene. Sounded like a sure thing to me, and I was not disappointed. Neither were any of my friends who I turned on to the band either. After that, we had the "Bestial" ep to sink our teeth into, and finally there's a new full length in the form of "The Key to a Black Heart." A no-brainer to pick up if there ever was one. Stylistically, it follows in the same footsteps as the previous releases, but with a slightly cleaner sound in the production.  But fear not, there's still plenty of distorted heavy riffs as only the Swedes can do them. At times, I hear some melodies similar to what Amon Amarth have become known for.  Vocals? Oh yeah, they're as savage as ever, and not at all in that stupid indecipherable gutteral noise that's still all the rage on this side of the Atlantic even after all these years. I have to wonder if anything was left of Mattias Borgh's drumkit after this album was rehearsed and recorded. His playing is so heavy and devastating, that at times you'll swear he gave up his drumsticks for a pair of cudgels. This will go down as a favorite of mine for 2012, and being the greedy fucker that I am, I'm already wondering when the guys will go back into the studio to record the next album.

Anguish - Through the Archdemon's Head

Anguish

Through the Archdemon's Head

2012 Dark Descent Records
Dark Descent is really making a name for themselves when it comes to doom/death metal, and this album by Anguish is yet another example of that.  In this case, it's the vocals and distortion on the guitars and bass that give Anguish the death metal feeling to their sound. Take that away, and this is pure doom metal that stems from the slowest parts of Candlemass' earliest material. While I don't hear any influence from Asphyx at all in these songs, Anguish did borrow one concept from the Dutch doomsters: a general disdain for guitar solos. I don't think I heard a single one on this recording, or at least nothing that I would have considered a solo. This makes sense to me, as doom is supposed to be all about the lows, and guitar solos tend to be the exact opposite of that.  They're too uplifting. You seriously can't call your band something depressing like "Anguish" if your music includes some potentially "happy" elements. Another thing that strikes me is the level of torture I hear in the singer's voice. "Anguish" could well be an understatement. He comes close to the feeling of absolute despair that made Katatonia's "Dance of December Souls" the classic that it is. We're talking a level of torment on a par with "I am the dog that Satan kicks when he comes home after a bad day". Yeah, that's really bad. I don't want to be that guy (or that dog). But all of that makes for some extremely powerful music, and that's something we all crave.