Flight of the Demon

"...a champion of the light is not mortal. Draw your sword..."

The third ever release by Metal Blade Records introduces us to the obscure and short-lived Demon Flight, a four-piece with the honor of featuring some of the worst metal vocals this side of Pat Boone in his metal mood…well, at least for one of these three songs.

With a lung delivery so sappy, so unmetallic, and so powdery clean, most initial merit "Dead of the Night" could have offered is desecrated by vocals that sound like Missing Persons' Dale Bozzio singing into a pillow. Musically, the band has its share of standard Euro-sound, undeniably traditional and rather catchy at times, but any listener who isn’t first scared shitless by voxman Rick Gerard has either heard less metal than a mallard duck or is simply tone deaf (or plain ‘ol deaf). Just when the warts of worry start to fester, "Search and Destroy" features a vocal tone of a much more masculine and mid-ranged nature to fit the swifter, more aggressive rhythmic pace for a strong turnaround.

For 9+ minutes the wordless title cut flares with its share of energy, showcasing songwriting that takes turns being both monotonous and appealing, yet all the while flaunts the talent of vanished guitarist H. Michael Osuna. Regardless, the song moves along straight like an arrow, seemingly uninterested in veering off the beaten rhythmic path for something more deliberate or menacing as heard in “Dead of the Night”.

Had Demon Flight released a full-lengther after this, simple common sense/taste may tell you any penchant toward a plush vocal delivery should be extinct from the mix, but you never know. It wasn't like Gerard surprised the band during the recording. Would you risk buying the album knowing such peril is quite near and very possible? Would you stick your hand into a knothole in a tree that some furry little creature just scurried into?