Have We Been Here Before?

“…we can’t control the will of destiny or the course of the stars…”

Whether these two songs were/are up yer alley depends so much on personal taste, and it’d be no surprise to find that you wore out only one side of this thing.

First you’ve got “Have We Been Here Before?” which, compared to available Demon material, measures up to the best on Night of the Demon, a forward-thinking freeway flyer that’s catchily-chorused to the hilt. It’s a gracious look ahead to the ambition the UK five-piece had in store to follow up a debut immersed in mixed opinions of its metal-ness. On its own, less opinions or anything to compare it to, it’s a strong, self-assured song most could get behind and push.

“Victim of Fortune”, however, with its restrained, slow-goin’ motion that culminates in nothing distantly important measures up to the debut’s lower rung stuff like “Fool to Play the Hard Way” and “Big Love”, dragging the a-side’s more meteoric will to live closer to the cemetery. It’s an ungracious look ahead to Demon’s debut nonmetallic tires skidding in place. On its own, less opinions or anything to compare it to, it’s a song that doesn’t warrant mentioning, let alone its own b-side.

Released around a month before The Unexpected Guest, the band’s sophomore platter that’ll share the same artwork here, this could either make ya or break ya, but in all likeliness it’s that eleven-tracker you heard first and were probably better off for it, especially when you find out both tracks are featured there as well.