Axewitch "Pray For Metal" CD Digipack Bonustracks!!

Contains 2 early demo songs as bonus

The debut mini lp originally released 1982 + 2 bonus tracks
This Swedish heavy metal band seems to have fallen into obscurity in the midst of the 80's metal scene, so it's pretty amazing that they're still around. They seem to be a pretty talented bunch, and they have some very cool album art. They seem to have somewhat of a medieval theme going for them. Axe Witch is definitely very good at what they do, so it surprises me how little known they are.
The music sounds like a mixture of 80's style heavy metal and 70's style heavy metal. Not too surprising considering that this was released in 1982, the 80's were just kicking in. The production is pretty good and everything sounds fine. I think the guitarist and drummer are really in sync with each other and they make a great duo. The singer is very good, there's not much high singing on this record either. The singing is mid range, so there isn't really a lot of deep singing either. His vocals really fit the feel of the music though. The drumming is good and always fits in with the pace of the music, it's slow when it should be and fast when it should be. The bass isn't really audible, that's quite unfortunate though. The music here isn't very heavy but for 1982 it's good enough.
The songs are all good and they are performed very well. The 70's metal influence is noticeable on the slightly bluesy "Born In A Hell", and the more rockish "Heavy Revolution. They both remind me a little bit of late 70's Judas Priest, sometimes even "Heaven And Hell" era Black Sabbath. "In The End Of The World" Kicks off with a siren and is a mid paced, 80's sounding metal song with some cool soloing in the middle, it still maintains a slight 70's element though. But there is one upbeat, melodic song on here. My favorite song here,"Death Angel". There's no 70's metal to be found here, just fast paced 80's metal with great guitar work and a mellow, catchy chorus. Not much different than many NWOBHM songs.
I would definitely advise any metalhead to pick this one up. Especially fans of NWOBHM bands, this fits right in with those type of bands. I don't know how common of a find this EP is, but if you can find it then do yourself a favor and get it. If you want some good old fashioned heavy metal, look no further than Axe Witch.

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