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Out-mammothed by the NWOBHM likes of Def Leppard, Iron Maiden and co, Angel Witch never quite made the big time, and remain revered largely for their influential eponymous debut.

With Kevin Heybourne still at the vocals/guitar helm, As Above… doesn’t surpass their early output, but does demonstrate a confident return to form.

The darker feel that always separated them from the gung-ho Maiden/Leppard cohort remains, with ambient mysticism in Horla, black metal edges in the likes of Gebura and a resolutely minor key throughout. Add some glorious technical guitar, crunching riffs and lashings of hearty occultism, and you have yourself a very satisfying album.

With half the record comprised of long-lost tracks, you can’t help questioning how much original ammo they have left in them. Nevertheless, long-time fans will rejoice, and new ones should also be amassed.

Polly is deputy editor at Classic Rock magazine, where she writes and commissions regular pieces and longer reads (including new band coverage), and has interviewed rock's biggest and newest names. She also contributes to Louder, Prog and Metal Hammer and talks about songs on the 20 Minute Club podcast. Elsewhere she's had work published in The Musician, delicious. magazine and others, and written biographies for various album campaigns. In a previous life as a women's magazine junior she interviewed Tracey Emin and Lily James – and wangled Rival Sons into the arts pages. In her spare time she writes fiction and cooks.