Review by Rosh on December 25, 2023.

Here's one of those sophomore albums that's heavily overshadowed by its predecessor, typically being brought up in sequence when Witchfinder General's original run is the topic at hand, but not always. Traditional doom metal historians will give nods to Friends of Hell, but generally bring up its individual cuts less than Death Penalty's best songs, while the New Wave of British Heavy Metal explorer tends to overlook it entirely, just remembering the debut as the landmark for "NWOBHM that's also doom." However, these Southbridge lads, renowned for their cleavage-photographing sensibilities, were doing something a little more uniquely their own in the songwriting deparment on their second album, something I would've liked to see grow into a more full-fledged form. I suppose it did eventually, even if not from the General themselves, because Friends of Hell did have an observable impact on future doom metal bands (I'd argue Cathedral's Gaz Jennings is Phil Cope of WfG's greatest disciple), and this merit speaks louder than the criticisms of this album I sometimes hear, about it making failed attempts at commerciality.

Now, in being an influential doom/heavy metal album unto itself, Friends of Hell is interestingly just slightly less Sabbath-y than was Death Penalty, but it's due to them having grown as musicians (becoming a four-piece) since the debut, feeling more free to deviate from the groundwork laid by their heroes. Phil, possibly in part due to no longer having to record bass as well, has become somewhat more focused with his guitar work, his hooks often feeling both punchier and more melodic. Meanwhile, Zeeb (fortunately) still sounds retarded, but he does manage to sing "through" the riffs a little more this time around, rather than ride solely on them. Enhancing the musical chemistry in these ways means that I'm not so sure the more commercial sounding material like "Music" on Friends of Hell was really misplaced at all. If anything, the band have become more efficient as songwriters, more effective with the catchiness they strived for from the beginning - the General have kind of been vindicated as trad doom's fuckboys after all, so why knock them for making things a little more accessible? It's not annoying or anything, at its worst it's just lovably, hilariously bad like they're known for, "I Lost You" being the prime example.

At any rate, most of FoH is top-shelf doom/heavy metal with a distinctive touch that you can tell Phil had been cooking up as he improved his guitar skills. As mentioned, he's doing more on a riff-for-riff basis, not relying on strumming arpeggios as much as he did during the verses of the Death Penalty title track or the chorus of "Burning a Sinner" (however badass of a doom metal standard that may be). Instead, he hits us hard with a simple three-power-chord phrase during the chorus of "Love on Smack", and offers up some more elegant-sounding pull-offs in the title track and "Shadowed Images" - both doom cuts that don't have much of a menacing presence to them at all, yet still consist of techniques that ought to always define the subgenre. On the other hand, "Quietus" is a significantly more intimidating song, as the unsettling intro followed by the lurching main riff perfectly suit the lyrics about being relentlessly hunted by one's former captor.

Actually, I admire the riff-writing formula used in the latter section of this song very much - it pinpoints a defining charicteristic heard in some of traditional doom's faster-paced riffs, and is a hidden intricacy of a style thought to be fairly straightforward. Notice how that driving rhythm, that "phrase", is repeated a few times to form the "body" of the riff, and then the variation that completes one "repitition" of the "full" riff just sort of "retraces" the overall progression, but this time, it "stomps" those chords down to sound heavier, more "jarring" (often, doom bands will do this a few steps lower than before as well). It's one of those ideas that you just know originated from jamming things out, finding out how you want the music to feel, rather than writing from a strictly technical standpoint. It also lends to memorable riffcraft due to the fact that each time that "jarring" phrase is repeated, the riff is broken up a little more per "rep", hence the next variation is subconsciously anticipated by the listener just seconds later. "Last Chance", then, has something similar going on when it picks up, but instead goes higher with its variation, a melodic departure from the heavier rhythms, which is one reason it's a hell of a lot of fun.

Matter of fact, Friends of Hell is an extremely fun doom classic by all accounts, and although Death Penalty is still the defining Witchfinder General record to me, one could easily turn in favor of the arguably smoother songwriting to be found here. I honestly don't remember the reason they broke up in 1984, but in having heard their two 80's full-lengths so many times, I can say that a third album from the same era would very likely have been plentiful in great ideas, and perhaps would have elevated Phil Cope to a more esteemed status in the realm of classic metal guitarists. I wonder, with the Black Sabbath training wheels starting to come off, would their doominess have waned going forward? Or perhaps it would have further increased, considering it was integral to their development anyhow? All this before they'd even been rediscovered and vindicated as early doom metal pioneers in the online era as well, mind you. As it stands, however, the General's sophomore album is a worthy companion to its lauded older brother, still continuing in a similar enough vein to make for one of doom's finest album duos.

Rating: 9.2 out of 10