Back For Victory...

Demon Head - Ride The Wilderness (2015)

It's been an amazingly fast rise for Denmark's Demon Head, from the 2014 release of their demo through a 7" on Levitation Records right to here, their first full album.  If you missed out on either of those previous releases, don't despair too hard, as most of their material shows up in reworked, expanded, and updated forms here (most notably the band's "Demon Head" track, which has been revisited with each release).  The band's blend of heavy rock blurs the lines on traditional styles of metal (doom and heavy being the main operators), and while Demon Head's return comes in a more polished form than their previous releases, the essential grit comes through loud and clear.
Traces of Led Zeppelin and The Doors leak through in the vocalist's attitude and the saunter of the guitar's steps, while the bass riffs could be extracted from lost practice sessions of early Black Sabbath.  The warmth of the amping and the comfort shown by the musicians in working with each other brings a somewhat sunnier vibe to the music than might be suggested by the descriptions so far, but at its heart, the heaviness goes uncompromised throughout all of the approaches taken by the band.  In short, heavy rock fans need to get ahold of this one before it gets too scarce; you can do that with vinyl from This Charming Man Records, CD from Wolfbiker Records, cassette (Caligari Records in the US, Smokedd Production in the EU), or digitally from Demon Head's BandCamp, so pick your poison to Ride the Wilderness.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Saint Vitus, Count Absurdo, Hijo de la Tormenta, Possessor, Abbot

Facebook • BandCamp

Demon Head - The Greatest Lie (320 kbps)

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Call of the Demon Head

Demon Head ~ Winterland 7" (2014)

Relative new comers to the Doom Metal game, Denmark's own Demon Head are keeping it old school, playing their own version of early Doom Metal, paying homage to the greats that cleared the "path of doom" so long ago. Having already made a splash with their "Demo 2014", they're back with their first vinyl release, the 7" single "Winterland", available here through Levitation Records. The first track is a reworking of their song "Demon Head", opening like a funeral march, with a heavy riff and plodding drums, the vocals kick in and just furthers the nostalgic feeling, sounding a bit like Pentagram. The fuzzed out guitar solo that drops just after the one minute mark and seems to surface some towards the end of the track, blows the song into another dimension, the indescribably dark and foreboding kind of dimension, the likes of which H.P. Lovecraft could base a novel around, where madness reigns supreme. The second track is actually the title track, "Winterland" opens with a couple of slow and heavy notes, but soon turns into a grooving Doom Metal song, with a thumping bass line and slamming drum part holding everything together nicely. The guitar makes you want to tap your foot and nod your head, it's a great riff, the sort that gets stuck in your head for a couple days afterward and you don't mind a bit. The vocals keep that retro sound in them, raw and unadulterated for the most part, without a ton of production effects. Towards the end of the track you're greeted with gnarly guitar solos, and it's the perfect way to end such a beastly track. Check it out over on their bandcamp, and pay whatever you want for the download.
~Skip

For Fans Of; Black Sabbath, Witchfinder General, Candlemass

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With A Demon's Horns...

DEMON HEAD - Demo 2014 (2014)

An improved version of the self-titled first cassette from Demon Head (or DEMON HEAD, as they always seem to write it), Demo 2014 still has roughness around its edges, but underneath the fuzz (which you could experience for yourself, if they hadn't already sold every last copy of their 100-cassette release) there's a bluesy traditional doom that drips with old-school D&D flavor and love for heavy metal. Luckily, you can still check out the four tracks (“Undertaker”, “Ride the Wilderness”, “III”, and “Demon Head”) over at Caligari Records' BandCamp page, which should give you a good idea of why you should keep your ears to the ground for any info on their first studio album or EP.  Tasty stuff.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Danzig, Black Sabbath, Salem's Pot, Uncle Acid, Magic Circle

BandCamp

DEMON HEAD - Riding The Wilderness (320 kbps)

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