DEMONHEAD – Black Devil Lies (Bonus Track Edition)
- Posted on 02-03-2020
Truth be told, I did not come across the name Demonhead until quite recently when I spotted a gig advert for an upcoming show with these cool Australians supporting Geoff Tate’s (ex-Queensryche) solo act, so these were guys were an entirely new phenomenon to me and this 15-track effort of theirs definitely turned into a most pleasant surprise for yours truly. As far as I know, the band released this album by themselves last year, which means that we are dealing with a so-called "Bonus Track Edition" release via Fastball Music consisting of the twelve songs that make up "Black Devil Lies" and three bonus cuts.
The quartet has a knack for churning out huge choruses and groovy riffs, tasty vocal hooks, and bucket loads of (thrash) metal aggression. In many ways, it sounds as if Demonhead are just as inspired by Machine Head, Megadeth, and Testament as they are by Iron Maiden and Judas Priest without necessarily being similar to anyone of those outfits. There is a strong melodic flair to this well-produced record and one can easily tell that a lot of time and energy went into crafting and arranging the muscular tunes that constitute it. The focus and discipline that is on display is impressive too and this is generally a quite memorable affair. The bombastic and wildly catchy “Eyes of the Insane” is fucking amazing and pretty damn hard-hitting while “Zombocalypse” is a wicked slab of pummeling thrash metal with a big, fat chorus to it – definitely two of the highlights to be found on the disc.
Although boasting plenty of juicy and powerful songs, “Black Devil Lies” may not be all-out thrilling or unpredictable from beginning to end in the sense that there is nothing new or innovative to what Demonhead do, but you should seriously consider giving them a spin if you want sharp and punchy metal anthems with a solid dose of grit and confidence coursing through them. This is a proper kick of the arse!