•
Rating: On August 6, 1979, two very young bands, not yet having released their respective debut albums, shared the stage at the Music Machine in London.
The first to perform were the Angel Witch. The second, a young band whose bassist, a certain Steve Harris, was rumored to be a real phenomenon. Within a few years, the two bands would never be able to cross paths on a stage again: the latter were busy on some world tour, and the former became little more than a memory.
“Angel Witch” was released in 1980 under the Bronze label and is a creature as beautiful as it is sad, haunting and melancholic. Dressed in the colors of hell, yet so brilliant that it remains undimmed by the passage of time. Born from the mind, fingers, and heart of one of destiny's favorite victims (Kevin Heybourne, singer and guitarist), this album is unanimously considered among the most lucid and successful episodes of the entire NWOBHM, matched only by a handful of other albums (read “Lighting to the Nation”, “On Through The Night”, the first Maiden...).
Albums like this are usually described as “seminal” or “essential”… well, at the risk of being inappropriately bold, I'd say that “necessary” can be equally appropriate. Necessary for its originality, inspiration and the influence of some musical and graphic solutions (starting with the satanic cover: John Martin's painting, “The Fallen Angels Entering Pandemonium”), as well as for the approach to the themes addressed in the lyrics: nightmare and the occult, witchcraft and mystery, seen, however, in a mainly romantic, dreamlike, and passionate key. A definitely refined puzzle, therefore, but direct and immediate, a magical amalgam of some of the most disparate sound and visual elements that will inspire entire generations of metal fans to come.
Sources and inspirations can be found almost everywhere, musically and beyond: the attack of “Sweet Danger” is almost a second “Bastille Day” by Rush, the splendid “Sorcerers” seems to be the product of the same mind that conceived “Remember Tomorrow”, and then Black Sabbath in the instrumental “Devils Tower”, the books of Dennis Wheatly, up to a patient of the asylum where Heybourne was a doorman (who inspired the lyrics of “White Witch”). Yet all this would not have been enough. Heybourne's voice was needed, perhaps not exceptional on a technical level, but melancholic and suffering, perpetually prey to a hidden sadness, ready, however, if necessary, to become sharp and hoarse, harsh and abrasive. Those guitar riffs were needed (almost relegated to the background by a production entrusted to the then-novice Martin Smith), so effective in their simplicity. Above all, those continuous changes of register that range from the horrific atmospheres of the open-eyed nightmare of “Angel of Death”, through the attack of the legendary opener (brilliant in its immediacy), to the devoted, dark-tinted romanticism of “Sorcerers”.
The courage, in short, to explore (but perhaps it would be more correct to say “invent”) metal in all its facets, from those more catchy and engaging, almost hard rock-oriented, of “Confused”, to the more intimate ones of the power ballad “Free Man”. However, as anticipated, it was not meant for Heybourne and Angel Witch to achieve success. Shortly after the release of the EP “Loser” in '81, Dave Hogg (drums) and Kevin Skids (bass) would leave the band. This would start a whirlwind of formations, lineup changes, sporadic (and not always successful) live performances that, instead of keeping the audience's interest alive, would risk diminishing what a band and its leader had done for metal.
There will be numerous live performances and compilations. The subsequent albums of new material are dignified. None, however, will be able to equal the caressed perfection of the debut.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
04 Confused (02:52)
I stand looking for a friend,
Someone I can rely on,
All the people laugh at me,
I hide in my room,
They don΄t understand me,
Think that I have gone insane,
These four walls are closing on me,
Can΄t they realize my pain
Confused, confused, confused
Can΄t you see that I΄m confused
The wild state of affairs gets worse and worse day by
day,
Everybody seems to be confused,
No one ever knows the way
But still life carries on,
And you live a day and you just wait,
You only get one chance, don΄t let it just slip away
Confused, confused, confused
Can΄t you see that I΄m confused
05 Sorcerers (04:14)
[K. Heybourne]
As I walk alone I can feel you there
People said to me
That you've got long black hair
You are the sorceress
I've seen your castle
Oh take me there
And hold your wand up high
A star of spectrum
A rainbow sky
Dancing around your grave
I'm glad you're gone
Can your soul be saved
Go back to where you belong
You walk through the mountain side
Mysterious powers go passing by
A storm is coming near
A soft warm breeze blows through the trees
You're dead!
06 Gorgon (04:05)
[K. Heybourne]
Can you hear the voice
Of a thousand years ago
The laughter of the gorgon
A female that brings doom
Don't look her in the eyes
Or you'll turn to stone
Don't let her deceive you
If you sense her don't look 'round
Or you'll find that she will lead you
And you'll be buried in the ground
You may gaze at her reflection
In still waters of the lake
But don't look at her directly
Or death will be your fate
Beware of her at all times
Her serpents of hypnosis
More evil than the devil
Can kill you with her eyes
You have to get rid of her
The only way I know
Creep up behind with an axe
And decapitate with one blow
I can see you're all confused
And you feel you're being used
And now your heart is broken
So I watched as he set out
And without a doubt
He did as I advised him
You could hear the breaking of her bones
As the axe went through her neck
Didn't realise at the time
That he killed the one that he loved
07 Sweet Danger (03:05)
On the fifth storey block you can�t seem to keep away from the edge,
When you�re getting pushed off you�re thinking this is gonna be the end,
You keep on falling, keep on falling till you awake
Sweet danger, sweet danger
Sweet danger, sweet danger
Trying to get away from, something drives you out whereever you go,
The harder you try the more your legs don�t want to know,
Please wake up, please wake up, you�ll have an attack
Sweet danger, sweet danger
Sweet danger, sweet danger
When you�re there nightly and you ought to know the end of the scene,
You got to get up somehow, till you realise it�s only a dream,
Please wake up, please wake up, it�s only a dream
Sweet danger, sweet danger
Sweet danger, sweet danger
08 Free Man (04:43)
I've been locked away for all these years
Now I can see the light of day
Things have changed a lot since I was last out here
I guess that's the way things, way things go
Now I'm a freeman again
I don't give a damn what happens in there
Now I'm through, what a life
Because now I'm a freeman
As I look around I couldn't remember my old home
Now there's a tower block in its way
I remember all my friends and my wife
They don't want to know me anymore
They wouldn't listen, they didn't understand
They accused me of crime I didn't commit
It was some other guy, but it wasn't me
They wouldn't give in, they wouldn't believe me
But now I'm a freeman again
I couldn't give a damn what happens in there
Now I'm through, what a life
Because now I'm a freeman
11 Sweet Danger (03:12)
On the fifth storey block you can�t seem to keep away from the edge,
When you�re getting pushed off you�re thinking this is gonna be the end,
You keep on falling, keep on falling till you awake
Sweet danger, sweet danger
Sweet danger, sweet danger
Trying to get away from, something drives you out whereever you go,
The harder you try the more your legs don�t want to know,
Please wake up, please wake up, you�ll have an attack
Sweet danger, sweet danger
Sweet danger, sweet danger
When you�re there nightly and you ought to know the end of the scene,
You got to get up somehow, till you realise it�s only a dream,
Please wake up, please wake up, it�s only a dream
Sweet danger, sweet danger
Sweet danger, sweet danger
Loading comments slowly
