I love Witch Cross' 1984 album Fit for Fight and even though the lineup is only 40% original (guitarist Mike Wlad and bassist Little John Field), I enjoyed their 2013 return, Axe to Grind. Eight years later we get the band's third album, Angel of Death, a release I was not expecting, making it that much more of a pleasant surprise.
Modern production aside, this is still an '80s band at heard and so you get great, Maiden-style galloping bass and harmony guitar work on songs like "Phoenix Fire" and the echo on singer Kev Moore's vocals on cuts like "Warrior" give just a taste of the band's '80s sound. They may not have been from Britain, but Witch Cross certainly took a lot from the NWOBHM aesthetic. Songs like "The Chosen One" and "Evil Eye" have a streak of hard rock running through their metallic hearts and it isn't hard to conjure up mid-80s Saxon when they are playing. Like a lot of albums these days, there isn't a single killer tune that defines Angel of Death, though the title track comes close. It's more a collection of rocking, metallic music with no dead spots. If you liked Axe to Grind or any of the NWOBHM band releases of the past 10 years, this is one to pick up.
