On Earth As It Is In Heaven is the album that most divides opinion among Angel fans. While you could hardly call it their Marmite album, as I’ve yet to encounter an Angel fan who truly loathes the record, it is – bar their 1999 comeback album In The Beginning – the Angel release that has disappointed fans the most. Its mixture of songs remains confusing, while its production promised so much, but didn’t quite deliver. Still, the album has enjoyed a great deal more respect in the years since its release, as fans have learned more about its gestation and grown to understand this most curious record.
Angel’s third album, released in March 1977, On Earth… contained the kind of pomp rock epics that the band had excelled at on their earlier releases – including Cast The First Stone (a holdover from the group’s second record, Helluva Band) and the haunting Just A Dream – as well as straight-ahead hard-rock fare such as Can You Feel It. It was also, however, a rather ambitious record.
