Demon Head: Hellfire Ocean Void

Next time I order eggs, I’m going to order “strange eggs� just to see if there’s something I’ve been missing. Of course, the “Strange Eggs� on this album (track 7) could be those huge egg-like organisms from Alien. If that’s the case, I’ll keep my distance.

I’m being silly, but my worrying over “strange eggs� could help me explain my overall impression of Demon Head’s latest album. The band members put themselves forward as true originals, a group of musicians dedicated to creating something not quite like anything else. The nice thing about the band is that they know that originality often involves working with familiar materials. In this case, the band embraces a familiar sound, but they play with it in ways that will either help them stand out or just get overlooked.

For those wondering what Demon Head sounds like, there is no simple answer. The best word is probably “rock,� but even that isn’t quite right. What I hear is a strange grouping of familiar rock instrumentation and style blended with improvisation, noise, and flash. I might compare it to the sound you get when a radio station isn’t quite tuned right, but that’s probably a dated metaphor and it also implies a noisy, messy, sound than something crisp, melodic, and melancholy.

For me, the vocals were the hardest part to enjoy. They were perfectly fine, and yet they had a depth and lilt that reminded me of 1980s Goth music. I liked 1980s Goth; I just didn’t know what to do with it here.

I suggest checking out “The Night is Yours� to see what you think. If you thought that was cool, jump over to “In the Hour of the Wolf.� For deeper tracks, you could check out “Labyrinth� or “Death’s Solitude,� but those tracks didn’t stand out to me very much. As for “Strange Eggs,� I I’ll let you decide. I thought they sounded pretty good.

Track Listing:
1. Rumours
2. The Night is Yours
3. A Flaming Sea
4. In the Hour of the Wolf
5. Labyrinth
6. Death’s Solitude
7. Strange Eggs
8. Mercury and Sulphur

Added: March 28th 2019
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Bandcamp Page
Hits: 821
Language: english

[ Printer Friendly Page ]
[ Send to a Friend ]