Tuesday 27 August 2013

Night Demon - S/T EP (Review)



Album Type : EP
Date Released : 23/4/2013
Label : Shadow Kingdom Records

 

Album track listing :

1. Night Demon 3:41
2. The Chalice 3:09
3. Ancient Evil 3:23
4. Ritual 3:38

Bio :

Night Demon is a young trio from California who literally fell out of the sky from now where. They’ve gone from just creating a bandcamp page to being invited to play KIT festival in Europe before their debut EP is even officially out! Fans that love old heavy metal from the N.W.O.B.H.M. are going to absolutely love this! Angel Witch, Raven, Iron Maiden, all that British styled heavy metal that started it all is feathered throughout their music. Think back to that time period and if you add harder punch to it all, that’s what Night Demon is all about. It’s a heavier/harder/grittier version of those bands with an American spice on top of it all. This 4 song EP will surely blow you away. The songs on their bandcamp page do not (I repeat) do NOT sound as good as the re-mastered versions that you’ll hear unless you buy the CD


Band :

Jarvis Leatherby - Bass/Vocals
Brent Woodward - Guitar
John Crerar - Drums


Review :

Night Demon are a trio of Californians who worship at the altar of all things NWOBHM. On this, a four track eponymous EP, you know what you are getting if I reference: Angel Witch, Witchfinder General, Iron Maiden (debut only) and even a little Venom (not too much though).

Night Demon open up the Night Demon EP with “Night Demon” (!). Out of the gate you get the Priest speed riffing of the late seventies (above Sabbath, below Motorhead in terms of tempo) and the metal references come thick and fast from that point. You can certainly detect the earnest sound of Kevin Heybourne in the vocals (if not the lyrical content), the riffing of Priest, the bass runs of Steve Harris and so on.

“The Chalice” will have you reaching for a pint of bitter in a beer mug, such is the late seventies/early 80's British vibe. Featuring a shuffling riff and a straightforward groove the band hit their mid paced stride well and the vocals are particularly well delivered.

“Ancient Evil” features Maiden-esque urgency in the opening riff and indeed in the vocals, too. There is a detectable vibe of melancholy again, but do not think that this is doom in any way- this is pure trad metal worship.

“Ritual” rounds things off with some very fleet of foot guitar work as the tempo is pushed up to around-Motorhead-speed of the first few albums. Lyrically, it is more of the same pseudo-occult nonsense. Therein lies the appeal of this EP: it is pure unabashed fun, harking back to a time when metal was exciting, naïve and fresh. That this is by three Americans makes no difference; it is escapism just as this type of metal was for the downtrodden inhabitants of England over thirty years ago. I can't remember the NWOBHM from the first time around- I had only just been born, but I can certainly remember what growing up in (Northern) England was like in the 80's and it was shit. Therefore, anything which makes life seem a little more exciting and, dare I say it, fun gets my vote.

 
Words by : Richard Maw
 

As ever, show your support to the band by checking them out at the various links.  You can buy the record here. This record is available now. Thanks to Clawhammer PR