The early line on Angel Witch was that they sounded like “the first Black Sabbath album played through a cement mixer.” A killer line — take a bow, Geoff Barrow — but Angel Witch were a bit more mythological and melodic. But they were much more muddled. In the whip of a neck, the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal transformed from critical construct to major-label mania, and Angel Witch found themselves signed to EMI. Their debut EP Sweet Danger hit #75 in 1980, a major score for a young metal act with no album and some bitchin’ occult cover art. But manager Ken Heybourne (father of guitarist/vocalist/songwriter/constant Kevin Heybourne) wasn’t impressed with EMI’s promotion, and inked the group to indie Bronze Records. For what it’s worth, Dave Hogg, the drummer at the time, wasn’t impressed with Ken Heybourne. He got the boot soon after the recording of their debut, Angel Witch, a doomy punk-metal classic. Bassist Kevin Riddles quit soon after, and Kevin H. hooked up with Deep Machine, another London NWOBHM act. The Witch’s pull was too strong, however, and he re-formed the group with two Machinists in tow, and though the chemistry wasn’t right, Heybourne persevered. A new new lineup was introduced in 1984 (after a break in which Heybourne moonlit for Blind Fury, whom you may remember from the Satan entry), and this group produced 1985’s tuff and tragically titled Screamin’ N’ Bleedin’. One year and one more sacking of Dave Hogg later, they released Frontal Assault, a stealth alley-rock juggernaut. But the band fell apart, and Heybourne found two fallbacks: a devoted American scene (he was arrested for overstaying his visa, scuttling any momentum there) and a career back home as a tree surgeon (which he loved, presumably until he suffered an injury on the job). At the close of the century, Heybourne cobbled together a new Angel Witch. They split just before a series of Swedish dates with Iced Earth, only to reunite a few months later and again in 2003. Intermittent live appearances — a number of ‘em featured Bill Steer of Carcass on second guitar — culminated in a long-awaited return to the studio, the result of which was 2012’s As Above, So Below. Issued on Metal Blade, the LP was split between glory-days re-records and new cuts. It wasn’t pretty, but it sure lived up to Barrow’s epithet.