Demon
Cemetery Junction
Spaced Out Music
2016
Demon have continued to endure and are seemingly happy to exist, despite never being the flavor of the week and being remembered by most “metal” people only for their two seminal “occult” themed early albums, which they easily topped with much of their later, socially conscious, prog influenced material, without ever losing their rock edge or character.
“Cemetery Junction” came a little out of the blue, at least as I was concerned, since I just checked out of curiosity one day their website and found out that a new album was coming out… some four years after the quite solid and easily likable “Unbroken”.
So what does this new album have to offer to the listener and indeed to the already cemented legacy of the band? I guess eleven new cuts would be the easy answer, but an added depth and ponderous lyrics, with the rock element taking a slight backseat is also a fair assessment. It’s not electro or anything, it’s just more “The Plague” and “British Standard Approved” than say “Night of the Demon”, so to speak. A bit more somber… darker album.
“Are You Just Like Me (The Spirit of Man)” is a mid-tempo, melodic, prog-flavored paean to mankind itself and its endless strife to evolve that is often challenged but rarely interrupted and a bit of concerned voice for our own kind’s own survival in these dark times. It’s nice, fleshy riff is really top notch as is its solo, but anyone that’s kept an eye on the band would have come to expect that.
“Life in Berlin” is a massive, pretty groovy (in the sense the term could be used within the context of Demon) that reminded me of a more “schadenfreude” version of “Blackheath”, this time recounting the beauties of Berlin, but also condemning some of the Madness that came out of it, plaguing both itself and the world. A strong, sturdy, anthemic number that work well enough.
“Turn on the Magic” is a bit of a tribute to illusionists that seems to also use some “patent” Demon phrases and more or less is a bit poppier/lighter especially when compared with the two pretty dramatic and much heavier tracks that precede it.
“The Best is Yet to Come” is an overused title, but if we look past that, it’s an interesting song that I had to think a bit about, but it becomes quickly apparent that’s about people going out to a festival and having a good time, a thing the band indulges in from time to time, still all these years later! Superb solo and a nice, to the point, riff makes this work quite effortlessly.
“Queen of Hollywood” is a little weird; I feel it wouldn’t feel out of place on side B of “Blowout” and I guess in part it might be something that’s come out of the involvement of some of the guys with Lawless (but then again it might just not). A rather smooth and experimental track, about the lost “Hollywood Queens” that go to LA, hoping to get a career of some kind going on and end up doing “tricks” for money… a band tackling prostitution and pornography without glorifying, but instead being pro-active about people having a chance to turn their lives around, even if they’ve fallen on hard times, is a rare thing indeed. The couple of high contrast heavier moments in the track, even reinforce the point poignantly, just by the contrast in mood they generate.
“Thin Disguise” is a smooth, slower swaggering track that does get louder in some parts and if there’s Americana, as a term to describe “American” music, disregarding genre, this is probably its British equivalent… “Anglicana”? I guess. It’s not the strongest song on the album, despite some nice instrumental portions and a nice enough chorus…
The title track, “Cemetery Junction”, is a very melodic “urban hymn” possibly inspired by the eponymous junction in Reading, but also probably applicable to anyone “fighting for survival” in an urban environment.
“Drive” is a little by-the-numbers mid-tempo, melodic rocker that’s not horrible, just a little too repetitive with its chorus, I guess to the point of infatuation.
“Miracle” is a bit of a “gem”. An eerie track, about being on someone’s sick-bed, who’s in between living and dying and against all odds, them coming back. Dave Hill doesn’t even sound like himself during the intro (is it him?), but I can’t help but think this could have only been written from own experience or at least by putting one’s self in some cherished one’s shoes. One of the best songs on the album and one of the songs that only this band is able to pull both so well and so elegantly, without having to resort to clichés and fake climaxes to make emotion overflow.
“Out of Control” is an odd, concept piece, I guess for “Batman”? It’s eerie, dramatic, cinematic and it only briefly brushes the cobwebs off from the old “horror” side of the band, using them to great effect. Should the band have wanted to create something in that style, this shows that they would have quite easily pulled it off. Maybe doing it “once” for a whole album would be “fun” I guess, but then again, I always like their deeper and more ponderous songs too, so gimme anything, I’ll take it.
“Someone’s Watching You” is a weird sort of track, not really going for a certain style and feeling a bit like “Fear of the Dark” thematically, but nothing like it musically. Without being occult, it has a horror tone about it. Probably not the best track of the album, despite a nice enough chorus and solo, but far from the worse.
Demon have returned, with yet another album that’s a bit more blue and sees them a few years older, but they’re still pretty good, no matter what, with a few tunes able to still send chills down your spine (and you’re free to read that anyway you like – fright/emotion). A British Institution that we’ll never grow tired of.
“Cemetery Junction” came a little out of the blue, at least as I was concerned, since I just checked out of curiosity one day their website and found out that a new album was coming out… some four years after the quite solid and easily likable “Unbroken”.
So what does this new album have to offer to the listener and indeed to the already cemented legacy of the band? I guess eleven new cuts would be the easy answer, but an added depth and ponderous lyrics, with the rock element taking a slight backseat is also a fair assessment. It’s not electro or anything, it’s just more “The Plague” and “British Standard Approved” than say “Night of the Demon”, so to speak. A bit more somber… darker album.
“Are You Just Like Me (The Spirit of Man)” is a mid-tempo, melodic, prog-flavored paean to mankind itself and its endless strife to evolve that is often challenged but rarely interrupted and a bit of concerned voice for our own kind’s own survival in these dark times. It’s nice, fleshy riff is really top notch as is its solo, but anyone that’s kept an eye on the band would have come to expect that.
“Life in Berlin” is a massive, pretty groovy (in the sense the term could be used within the context of Demon) that reminded me of a more “schadenfreude” version of “Blackheath”, this time recounting the beauties of Berlin, but also condemning some of the Madness that came out of it, plaguing both itself and the world. A strong, sturdy, anthemic number that work well enough.
“Turn on the Magic” is a bit of a tribute to illusionists that seems to also use some “patent” Demon phrases and more or less is a bit poppier/lighter especially when compared with the two pretty dramatic and much heavier tracks that precede it.
“The Best is Yet to Come” is an overused title, but if we look past that, it’s an interesting song that I had to think a bit about, but it becomes quickly apparent that’s about people going out to a festival and having a good time, a thing the band indulges in from time to time, still all these years later! Superb solo and a nice, to the point, riff makes this work quite effortlessly.
“Queen of Hollywood” is a little weird; I feel it wouldn’t feel out of place on side B of “Blowout” and I guess in part it might be something that’s come out of the involvement of some of the guys with Lawless (but then again it might just not). A rather smooth and experimental track, about the lost “Hollywood Queens” that go to LA, hoping to get a career of some kind going on and end up doing “tricks” for money… a band tackling prostitution and pornography without glorifying, but instead being pro-active about people having a chance to turn their lives around, even if they’ve fallen on hard times, is a rare thing indeed. The couple of high contrast heavier moments in the track, even reinforce the point poignantly, just by the contrast in mood they generate.
“Thin Disguise” is a smooth, slower swaggering track that does get louder in some parts and if there’s Americana, as a term to describe “American” music, disregarding genre, this is probably its British equivalent… “Anglicana”? I guess. It’s not the strongest song on the album, despite some nice instrumental portions and a nice enough chorus…
The title track, “Cemetery Junction”, is a very melodic “urban hymn” possibly inspired by the eponymous junction in Reading, but also probably applicable to anyone “fighting for survival” in an urban environment.
“Drive” is a little by-the-numbers mid-tempo, melodic rocker that’s not horrible, just a little too repetitive with its chorus, I guess to the point of infatuation.
“Miracle” is a bit of a “gem”. An eerie track, about being on someone’s sick-bed, who’s in between living and dying and against all odds, them coming back. Dave Hill doesn’t even sound like himself during the intro (is it him?), but I can’t help but think this could have only been written from own experience or at least by putting one’s self in some cherished one’s shoes. One of the best songs on the album and one of the songs that only this band is able to pull both so well and so elegantly, without having to resort to clichés and fake climaxes to make emotion overflow.
“Out of Control” is an odd, concept piece, I guess for “Batman”? It’s eerie, dramatic, cinematic and it only briefly brushes the cobwebs off from the old “horror” side of the band, using them to great effect. Should the band have wanted to create something in that style, this shows that they would have quite easily pulled it off. Maybe doing it “once” for a whole album would be “fun” I guess, but then again, I always like their deeper and more ponderous songs too, so gimme anything, I’ll take it.
“Someone’s Watching You” is a weird sort of track, not really going for a certain style and feeling a bit like “Fear of the Dark” thematically, but nothing like it musically. Without being occult, it has a horror tone about it. Probably not the best track of the album, despite a nice enough chorus and solo, but far from the worse.
Demon have returned, with yet another album that’s a bit more blue and sees them a few years older, but they’re still pretty good, no matter what, with a few tunes able to still send chills down your spine (and you’re free to read that anyway you like – fright/emotion). A British Institution that we’ll never grow tired of.