220 VOLT — Demo #1 (review)

Demo · 1982 · Heavy Metal

5/5 · 2010-06-08
Certif1ed

Dude, you just GOTTA hear this!!!

Although not a British band, this first demo from 220 Volt was created at the height of the NWoBHM, and truly represents much that was great about the movement, as well as something spectacularly different.

220 Volt were in a class of their own, as this demo shows, with imagination, energy and the technique to pull it all off. Combine with that an inherent feel for the unique style they were pursuing, and you have a band at the sharp edge of many of the most important changes that the NWoBHM brought about.

The only thing that potentially lets this demo down is the vocals - but that could be said of the initial offerings of 99% of bands at the time. That said, there's so much passion in the vocals that you can forget the punky amateurishness of them quite quickly, given the quality of the material.

Enough of the bigging up - let's dive into the great music;

White Knight clocks in at almost 8 minutes - and it was still very unusual to have such long songs. A fluid twin lead sets the scene for a hi-energy power riff which twists and tumbles all over itself with amazing agility - always making breathtaking sense, never tripping over itself. This is all backed up with the massive powerhouse of Krusenberg's solid, thumping bass and Hermansson's awesome drums, with backbeats and power riffing verging on thrash metal.

That's not all! The somewhat punky vocals I mentioned deliver tunes worthy of power/punk/pop maestros The Buzzcocks, replete with out of tune backing vox, and the music becomes distinctly proggy - without once entering into Spinal Tap territory, but instead, competing convincingly with Iron Maiden.

At 5:15 comes some truly impressive melodic twin lead guitar work that predicts Helloween and, gulp, Yngwie Malmsteen in style and structure. This builds and you just don't want it to stop, such is the mastery and beauty in composition. The fade-out is criminally early.

Next up is Nightwinds, beginning disappointingly like a torpid ballad that you don't want to like, but surreptitiously winds its way around your musical tastebuds like a friendly cat. Nääs shapes his vocals Joey Ramone style, and the backing vocals fill out the arrangement convincingly until the heavy bit crashes in satisfyingly. Somehow this piece reminds me a little of Skid Row's 18 and Life.

Gypsy Queen is one of two short pieces, and is full of moments that save it, just as you think it's a simple piece of filler, with a powerful chorus hook and twin lead tag that drags you right in.

Electric Power is THE killer track on this impressive demo, with gravity-defying fast flurries on the guitar, thunderous double bass drumming, and huge, crunchy riffs hearkening back to The Sweet's "Set Me Free", or Judas Priest, if you prefer.

Again, the Buzzcocks/Ramones-like vocals may turn some off, but the melodies are so strong, they're worth sticking with. The overall flying energy of this piece easily sets it in the realms of early thrash - surely Metallica must have been as familiar with this band as they were with Vardis.

You might think that the penultimate track would be a ballad, but no. Heads down, it's time for another blisteringly fast one. Maybe the thunderous drums were a little enthusiastically mixed on this, but that all adds to its charm. The twin lead is there, with cycling arpeggios that clearly hint at Helloween, and breaks in the song that clearly hint at Metallica's Seek and Destroy. A real belter, as they say oop narth.

The speed does not subside for the last track - far from it. Faster than you can say Helloween, Woman in White proceeds to destroy everything that was laid down earlier on this astonishing demo. The twin lead break is pure heaven, like something Iron Maiden ought to have thought up, but didn't - although the mix threatens to destroy everything with the double bass drums almost obliterating everything. A bit like Overkill with decent tunes...

What can I say?

I could fault it, but that would be to ignore the fact that the faults are a hugh part of why this is such an amazing demo. While I wouldn't usually condone violence or other forms of extreme co-ercion, if you ever see a copy, wrestle it away from its present owner, no matter what the cost.