DEMON were an extremely theatrical NWOBHM band that formed in 1979 whose style and ideas were copped by artists as diverse as Witchfinder General (see picture at bottom of post) and Mercyful Fate (see video, mid-post). Their Satanic imagery and morbid subject matter pre-dated Venom, although their music was much mellower than any of these bands, more 70's mustache-rock than speed metal.Today I give you Demon's first two full-length releases, 1981's Night of The Demon (also the name of an awesome 1980 slasher flick about Sasquatch) and 1982's The Unexpected Guest. One caveat for the thrashers: I know, I know -- that super-Satanic backwards-masked intro on Guest gives the impression that Demon's gonna bust out sounding like an '82 Deicide, and it can be a little bit of a let-down when they reveal themselves as AM radio popsters. But let it grow on you, man. Trust me.
Demon have a new-ish DVD out, which documents a 1982 gig and features interviews with band members. These dudes were goofy as fuck, and had Bros dressed up like wizards and shit running around on stage with them. Although they're still around to this day, they dropped the GWARlike antics years ago, and the DVD gives a nice insight into how innovative they were back in the day. You might be able to find it somewhere, I saw one in the DVD section at Amoeba on Haight...?
Sup?NIGHT OF THE DEMON (1981)
Download HERE
Purchase HERE
LEARN:
THE UNEXPECTED GUEST (1982)
What the fuck is up with this album cover?Download HERE
Purchase HERE
DEMON website / Myspace / Last.FM
Nice post! I remember buying Night of the Demon in the early '80s outta the import bin and being pretty let down upon first listen, but it really grew on me, as did Unexpected Guest when I found it a bit later. Not terribly metal, but definitely spooky and well-written for its time. Fanx!
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