Kev Rowland
At the tail end of 2012, current Demon members Neil Ogden and Paul Hume decided that they wanted to form a new project to combine harmonies and melodies with strong and heavy riffs; something that was traditional heavy metal but with a very modern feel and loads of melody. To assist in their quest they brought in Persian Risk guitarist Howie G and HeadrusH bassist Josh "Tabbie" Williams and only a very short while later their debut album has been made available through Escape Music, and what a joy it is to listen to as well. With titles such as “Heavy Metal Heroes”, “F.O.A.D.” and “Metal Time” one could be forgiven to think that this is the latest offering from Manowar, but although the song titles and lyrics are very tongue in cheek this is serious stuff indeed.
At heart this is a band musically firmly rooted in the Eighties with a large sound and guitars that sound huge, but they always maintain the melody. The harmonies are spot on, and the vocals soaring, but no-one would ever confuse this with an AOR act. These guys are metal first and foremost, just approaching it from a far more melodic end. In many ways they are reminiscent of the LA 80’s Glam scene, but with way more balls and edge which drives this over the top. All in all this is a crunching debut that is going to make them many friends within the melodic metal scene, and in many ways just doesn’t sound like a British band at all. www.lawlessofficial.com