UMUR
"Demo 1" is the first demo recording by Danish heavy metal act Force Majeure. The demo was independently released in 1988. Force Majeure formed in 1983 and various points during their career included former and future members of Artillery. They were originally called Apocalypse but changed their name to Force Majeure in 1988. They shortly changed their name to Crime Academy in 1990 and then back to Force Majeure later the same year. They disbanded in 1991 after releasing one demo as Apocalypse, one demo as Crime Academy and three demos as Force Majeure (the Crime Academy demo was released between the second and third Force Majeure demos).
So complicated band history explained this is the first demo recording by Force Majeure under that monicker. The material from this demo along with the material from the other two Force Majeure demos were compiled and released on the "Force Majeure" compilation album in January 2010 through Steel Legacy Records, which is probably the easiest way to get a hold of the material these days.
Since the June 1986 "Out in the Night..." Apocalypse demo, there have been quite a few lineup changes (and of course a band name change). The two remaining members from the Apocalypse days are guitarist Jesper Schmidt and drummer Morten Nielsen. New in the lineup are bassist Peter Thorslund (who would depart in 1990 to join Artillery), and lead vocalist Per Onink, who was the original vocalist in Artillery.
While Apocalypse was a relatively raw but still melodic inclined heavy metal act, Force Majeure are generally more melodic, epic, and adds more power metal and neo-classical elements to their sound. It´s quite a sophisticated take on heavy metal but Force Majeure are skilled performers and pull it off with both passion and great conviction.
The demo opens with two tracks featuring lead vocals and closes with the instrumental "Oblivion", which is quite the impressive instrumental where Schmidt really lets rip. Upon conclusion this demo is both well produced, well performed, and the mateiral is memorable and powerful. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.