California’s Night Demon is a new band that sounds like the middle ground between a half-dozen old bands, which means that they also sound like at least two dozen new bands. Their first full-length, Curse Of The Damned, is like a community college course in Classic Heavy Metal Album Construction, from the axe-murderer-by-Satanic-altar cover art to song titles like “Satan” and “Heavy Metal Heat” to… well, everything else.
Now, that’s not to say that it’s bad, because it isn’t – just that it’s very much within the parameters of retro-NWOBHM revivalism. Like current compatriots High Spirits and the like, Curse is gleefully corny classic metal, built upon the blocks of Saxon, Diamond Head, Riot, Raven, and so on. Like those classics, Curse is full of riffs, and the whole of it is like a game of Name That Influence: Almost all of these riffs remind me of some other riff that I can’t quite place. From the NWOBHM Riff #13B opener of “Screams In The Night” to the Speed Metal Riff #8 intro of “Full Speed Ahead,” they’re all borrowed, but from what? Saxon? Yes, totally, but which song? Diamond Head? Absolutely – maybe “The Prince,” or maybe it just sort of sounds that way.
And while I’m covering my bases, let it be known that I’m not accusing Night Demon of plagiarism, mind you. I couldn’t back it up if I was because I can’t figure out which songs they’re actually copying – it appears to be all of them, really, a bit of this and a bit of that. And regardless, you know what they say about good artists anyway…
Beyond the riffs, Night Demon’s biggest musical strength lies in their combination of catchy melody and bassist Jarvis Leatherby’s warm and blustery vocals. Like Chris Black in High Spirits, Leatherby has a knack for great melody, soaring and instantly memorable, even when paired with less-than-stellar lyrics like “You can hear the thunder roar / you can feel the heavy metal heat.” His voice is leathery, powerful enough, never strained, never screaming, and he avoids the falsetto shrieks that too many youngsters automatically lean on when aping the classics.
Between the familiarity of the music and the catchy melody, the whole of Curse Of The Damned feels both old and new, broken in and a bit overworn. You’ve heard this before, from then and from now, and whether or not you’ll enjoy it depends on how much room you have left for post-millennium 1982 retread. For me, in the midst of the fist-pumping glory of “The Howling Man” or “Curse Of The Damned” or “Run For Your Life,” it’s hard to be too critical because it’s all so much fun. But I’m the only guy in last two decades to get high-fived for wearing a Tygers Of Pan Tang shirt, so I’m clearly predisposed to liking these things. (And seriously, what were the chances of the other Tygers fan being in that same bar at the same time? Of all the gin joints in all the world…)
Night Demon isn’t gonna change your world – they’re here to rock, and rock they do, and then they’re gone… like a demon… in the night… or something.
