Demon – Invincible
(Frontiers Music – 2024)
(Style: Rock)
Demon return with the devilish ‘Invincible’ it is their 14th and very good it is too. They were formed in Leek, Staffordshire by Dave Hill in 1979.
I have been eternally aware of Demon since the beginning of their satanic origins, but they have largely eluded my turntable, maybe it is because of the monstrous moniker. Whatever it is this new record is eerily good as it conjures up the dark without frightening the living daylights out of me. The use of keyboards creates melodrama as the songs deliver with enough bite to be infectious without causing any long-term harm.
It is a hell of an album which takes you from ‘Cradle to Grave’, within the darkness of the digital grooves it contains enough melody to make it a real thriller. Vocally you cannot escape, the music just pulls you towards it, the title track marches at you with scything guitar that cuts through with a swathe of sweeping sonics.
For the full effect listen with a flickering candle and some blood red wine. Listen… with open ears, welcome the whole thing into your world in one go. There are so many moments, beginning with the ‘Intro’ to the winding of a clock, that create a cinematic feel that constantly reaches climax after climax.
It is interspersed with drama that you are compelled to listen. Album closer ‘Forever Seventeen’ ensures that it comes to an end in spine-tingling fashion as it tells of chasing a dream.
This album is dark, full of magic. The one thing that haunts me is; why have I never listened before? I will now forever be caught under the spell of the Demon! 45 years in the business and I am only just catching on.
By Paul Mace