Demon (Sweden Rock 2016 Spotlight)

Demon are survivors from New Wave of British Heavy Metal Movement (NWOBHM) that never quite got their due. They formed in 1979 with vocalist Dave Hill the only remaining original member today. Before Demon split in 1992 they issued nine studio albums, two of them charting in the UK. Despite the charting of The Unexpected Guest (UK #47) and The Plague (UK #73) they never really achieved the success they deserved. In 2001, Dave Hill reformed Demon with new players behind him and issued three more albums including Unbroken.

It’s actually thanks to Sweden Rock Festival that I discovered Demon! Well, I’m sure I would have eventually anyway, but the process was expedited by the Festival. Prior to my inaugural adventure across the big pond. I checked them out via the Sweden Rock website and YouTube. I was drawn in by one of my favorite styles of music and the top quality of Demon‘s songs. This led to the acquisition of the band’s latest output, 2012’s Unbroken. An excellent album, they were a target in that first Sweden Rock Festival. They didn’t let me down in their noon set. Subsequently, seeing the Demon moniker appear in the Sweden Rock 2016 roster brought excitement at the prospect of seeing them again. You can read about it here in my daily diary blog (A Canadian Decibel Geek in Sweden Day 3)

Demon at Sweden Rock 2016

If I thought they were awarded a hard timeslot in 2013, 2016 was no different. The Brits were up against the mighty Sabaton on the Festival Stage. OK, not so mighty in North America, but here in Europe-huge. The timeslot in the heat of the sun almost be better. Nonetheless, I present and ready to rock! Their set time began at midnight in the Rokklasikker Tent and it was easy for me to pull away from Sabaton (that’s Shawn “Animalize” Irwin‘s thing, not mine).

“Night of the Demon” led the charge as I captured it on video, hoping the audio/video quality of this new camera was of the highest regard. Staying with the Night of the Demon album, “Into the Nightmare” followed. “Sign of a Madman” from The Unexpected Guest album made an appearance next. An impromptu “Happy Birthday” rang out from the crowd in response to vocalist Dave Hill‘s announcement of band birthdays. He then introduced “The Plague” adding, “sing along if you know it but please don’t take your clothes off”! After I experienced an earlier incident during Luft Gitarr, this comment made me wonder if Dave had also witnessed that horror. In a double shot from The Plague album, “Nowhere to Run” followed the title track.

The sole representative from Better the Devil You Know, “Standing on the Edge” took us through to “Liar”. The boys sounded fantastic throughout the whole set, Hill‘s voice on point to lead the charge. They rounded out their all-too-short set with a three-song punch. Sandwiched in between “The Spell” and “Don’t Break the Circle” was Breakout‘s “Life on the Wire”.

Unbroken Forgotten

Disappointingly there were no appearances from their most recent release, 2012’s Unbroken. I had for sure expected to hear “Fill your Head with Rock” given that its creation for the Festival. Overall, a fantastic album that I recommend you acquire if you’re into the NWOBHM sound. Why not just grab the remainder of the Demon catalogue while you’re at it? Use the handy purchase link below.

Thanks Demon for another great set at Sweden Rock……can we be hopeful on new material soon? And maybe even a date in Toronto? Probably just Meister wishful thinking.

BUY: Albums on Amazon