Night of the Demon

Night of the Demon holds a certain place in heavy metal mythology. As far as I am concerned, it is maybe the first metal album presenting such a macabre, ghastly imagery in its cover. Hell, someone could easily say that it's some obscure proto-death metal judging from the cover alone. Occult lyrics were of course nothing new to rock and metal music in 1981 but this cover is, I daresay, groundbreaking and it's rightly considered a classic. But what about the music?

The album starts exceptionally well. The first four songs (intro included) are among the cream of the crop of NWOBHM. A short, gloomy introduction first and then the self titled song kicks in, which is a classic piece of heavy metal. Legendary chorus, sweet riffs, very cool lyrics that go along with the aura of the band; personally I couldn't ask for more. "Into The Nightmare" is more mid tempo goodness. Insanely catchy chorus, lead guitar sounds awesome, and when Dave Hill sings "Out of the dead of night they came into the nightmare" I imagine a video clip of the song with some "Prince of Darkness" or "The Fog" excerpts playing. Next in tracklist is "Father of Time". Here, Demon gently apply the brakes and create a slow, moody piece which works very well in the context of the album. Really neat guitar work again, combined with some messianic, apocalyptic lyrics. And that's it. Unfortunately the rest of the album is a completely different story. The next six songs are nothing like those that preceded them. Juvenile 70s hard rock and somewhat uninispired compositions. It is like I'm listening to a different album. Typical, run of the mill riffs, silly and indifferent lyrics that do not keep up with the previous songs and the production doesn't help either, very flat and dry sound. Mind you, they are listenable songs, especially "One Helluva Night", but ultimately they fail to deliver. You will find no ominous vibes in them, nothing that justifies the album cover. They sound like they were written and recorded at another time and then the band decided to throw them in this record. I have never encountered such a stark inconsistency in any other album. That also works against those songs. I have to repeat, that despite how bitter I may sound, they are not bad pieces. They are honest, simple rock songs that would easily fit to a party but they inevitably lose in comparison with the first tracks and eventually they sound a bit off when you hear the whole album. I think it would benefit the band if they had decided to release an EP with the first four songs and an LP with the rest of the album.

To sum it up, I would recommend this one. Besides the undisputable historic importance, the first side alone, save "Decisions", is worth the admission ticket. As for the second side, slightly above average but just that. Heed my warning if you want and proceed with caution, don't set you standards too high. A good NWOBHM album that Demon would easily surpass with their sophomore effort, the mighty "Unexpected Guest". Personally, I even prefer "The Plague" to this one.