Friday 19 September 2014

Night Demon - Night Demon EP (Expanded Edition)


In spite of the rude health of heavy metal nowadays, younger fans seem to forget (or in some cases, don't even know) what started it all off. I'm talking about people who've not invested the time in listening to bands like Diamond Head, Iron Maiden and the like. Obviously, it is difficult to hear the resemblance between those bands and modern day bands like Lamb Of God and Miss May I, but dig deep enough and you'll find bands that do.

Ventura, Californian band Night Demon are one such band that take their roots from traditional heavy metal. They released a four-track 7" in 2012, which was later released in expanded form last year via High Roller Records. They have also just finished recording their debut album.

Tracklisting:-

1. Night Demon
2. The Chalice
3. Ancient Evil
4. Ritual
5. Axe Crazy
6. Lightning To The Nations
7. Radar Love (First Live gig)
8. Ritual (First Live gig

It’s all about the guitar with Night Demon. The melodic riffs and the screaming solos instantly hit you on opener, Night Demon. The vocals are almost falsetto and the harmonies work brilliantly. Mix Maiden with a bit of thrash and this is what you get. The driving bass-line that signals the start of The Chalice, belies a song that is slower paced that the opener. That doesn’t detract from the music though, as it highlights Night Demon’s heavy metal credentials further. Proving that they’re equally as happy at mid-pace as they are ripping their way through some thrash. The solo will make you smile no matter what! The first four tracks on this expanded edition are the original four from the 7” and the production is top quality. Ancient Evil will bury itself inside your head and you’ll be singing the chorus for days, if not weeks. Ritual closes out those original tracks in the same fashion that Night Demon started it all. Brilliantly simple power-riffs and another smile-inducing solo. Four songs on the 7” really weren’t enough, so thank god they stuck on four more!

The next three songs are covers, starting with Axe Crazy by Jaguar. If you’re into NWOBHM, you know what you’re getting into here. A great take on the song. They pay homage to Diamond Head with a cover of Lightning To The Nations. Having seen that band at The Cockpit in Leeds (RIP), I can attest that they deserve to be heard by more people so it’s great see Night Demon spreading them to more ears. I’m not that familiar with Golden Earring, but Night Demon covered their song Radar Love at their first gig and it makes it’s way onto this as the first of two live songs. I’m really digging this as it gathers their live energy and replicates it well on record. You can’t say that about many live songs that find their way onto vinyl. They close the record out with a live version of 7” song Ritual. It’s a good chance to hear how their stuff comes across live and all I can say is, if they ever come to the UK, I’m there!

You can stream Night Demon here:-



There are also plenty of merch options available, including digital downloads, t-shirts, CD copies and rare out-of-print copies of the original 7".

If you want the expanded LP version, head to High Roller Records here - http://www.hrrshop.de.

Night Demon Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/nightdemonband
High Roller Records Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/hrrecords

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