By now most folks know the history of Demon, one of the first of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands to explode on the scene in 1979, formed by vocalist Dave Hill and guitarist Mal Spooner, also initially including lead guitarist Les Hunt, bassist Chris Ellis, and drummer John Wright. Night of the Demon was their 1981 debut, cloaked in evil imagery and lyrical connotations, but despite the dark nature of the presentation there loomed a band that had a very good melodic sense which greatly overshadowed the image once you actually started to listen to the songs. Here we have the 2016 Japanese reissue of Demon's classic debut on Carrere Records, in mini-LP styled sleeve presentation.
Not as thrashy as contemporaries like Iron Maiden or Satan, nor as metallic as Saxon, but certainly as melodic as Def Leppard and at times as moody as Diamond Head, Demon without a doubt had a style all their own. Many of the tunes on display here are instantly memorable anthems, like the raging title track, "Father of Time", "Into the Nightmare", and the crunchy "Liar", one of the hardest rocking tracks and very reminiscent of vintage UFO or even Def Leppard on their first two albums. Hill's vocals are strong and confident throughout, his powerful swagger not far removed from a young Phil Mogg, and the twin guitar attack of Spooner & Hunt deliver plenty of tasty riffs and sizzling solos. Listening back on this album, it's almost hard to imagine why major success didn't come Demon's way, as songs like "Big Love", "Ride the Wind", and "Decisions" easily had plenty of hard rock majesty to appeal to the masses.
Though Demon would go on to semi-success in subsequent years on later releases with a much more melodic & progressive style (a catalog I can highly recommend) this debut seems to be what is most remembered by many fans. If you were initially scared away by the dark imagery, rest assured this is a very melodic hard rock album that screams 'don't judge the book by its cover'. For those who perhaps were disappointed that the album wasn't as heavy and evil as it appeared, give it another go, as it's actually held up quite well over the years.
See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!
Track Listing
1) Full Moon
2) Night of the Demon
3) Into the Nightmare
4) Father of Time
5) Decisions
6) Liar
7) Big Love
8) Ride the Wind
9) Fool to Play the Hardway
10) One Helluva Night
11) Wild Woman (bonus track)
12) On the Road Again (bonus track)
13) Liar-1st Recording (bonus track)
14) Night of the Demon -remix (bonus track)
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