Those of you old enough to remember like yours truly will fondly recall Demon from the late 1970s/early 1980s as one of the leading lights of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.
The shuddering debut album Night of the Demon in particular and the full-on stage shows not dissimilar to Alice Cooper and Kiss in their theatrics.
Bar a decade or so hiatus, Demon have been with us ever since those early days one way or another. Now, thanks to a tip-off from me mate Rob, I have my clammy paws on a copy of Demon’s current offering – Cemetery Junction. What a fine, proper rock album it is too. Crisp, fresh, heavy and with a nod back to the NWOBHM days when it all began.
This version of Demon is tight. Powerful, clean, burgeoning riffs with the keys making the sound bigger. Restrained, well-paced solos, drum and bass as one, towering vocals. I must admit had me mate Rob not told me about it I probably wouldn’t have bought Cemetery Junction. Now I’m so pleased I did.
The opener, Are You Just Like Me? is an excellent statement of intent. Those big, driving chords, washed of keys and the thumping rhythm is rather reminiscent of Uriah Heep. Had I heard it without knowing it was Demon I’d have sworn in was Heep without Bernie Shaw.
Check it out and give it a listen with the video below. Ballsy huh?
https://youtu.be/XSzr8ENCaR0
Life in Berlin is a storming song with a monster, monster chorus. Turn on the Magic takes us back to Heepland. Flashes of keys/synths in the opening trio give it a pomp feel in places not unlike Magnum or Saracen. Marvellous.
Took me a while to get Queen of Hollywood though once the penny dropped I realised how good it is and not the weak, half-hearted effort I thought it was at first. Anything but.
Thin Disguise slows it down a bit showing variation and a change pace in the song writing with the bluesy slow burner then the title track rocks things back up again with the momentum building back up concluding with the slightly creepy (but enjoyable) Someone’s Watching You with the eerie twinkly piano bits reminding one of Hammer Horror sound tracks. Spine chilling.
The eleven tracks flash by. Such a great listen. Well crafted, well played hard rock songs with bite and melody. Big riffs, big chords, big sound. All intelligently and maturely written and performed. Polished yet raw at the same time.
After pushing forty years Demon still have it in abundance. One of the albums of 2016 make no mistake. A “buy it or regret it” indeed.
>> DEMON CEMETERY JUNCTION HERE ON AMAZON <<
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