Demon (band)
| Demon | |
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Demon live 2010
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Leek, Staffordshire, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1979–1992, 1997–present |
| Labels | Clay Records, Carrere Records |
| Website | www |
| Members | Dave Hill Paul Hume David Cotterill Karl Waye Ray Walmsley Neil Ogden |
| Past members | Former members |
Demon is an English hard rock/heavy metal/progressive rock group, formed in 1979 by vocalist Dave Hill and guitarist Mal Spooner, both hailing from Leek, Staffordshire. They are considered an important band in the new wave of British heavy metal movement.
The original line-up was completed by Les Hunt (lead guitar), Chris Ellis (bass guitar) and John Wright (drums). The band were signed by Mike Stone's Clay Records in 1980 and licensed to Carrere Records to join their stable of metal bands. Their debut album, Night of the Demon, was released in 1981.
After their 1982 follow-up album, The Unexpected Guest, the band experimented beyond the NWOBHM sound and moved the band in a more melodic direction whilst still retaining the more traditional heavy metal black magic lyrical style.
In 1983 Demon took a change in direction.The Plague marked a swing towards a more progressive sound, adding the keyboards of session musician Andy Richards to the album's sound. Lyrically the band also changed direction, switching to a more overtly political style that was to characterise their albums for the rest of their career. The following album, the Pink Floyd influenced British Standard Approved (1984), released on the small independent Clay label, was not a huge commercial success, and with the death of Mal Spooner later that year, it appeared that the band would soon fold. At this point, the band had recruited a permanent keyboard player and co-songwriter in Steven Watts.
The following release Heart of Our Time (1985) showed that the remaining members of the band were determined to continue, and it was the start of a new songwriting partnership between Hill and Watts. Although the album is regarded as the weakest of the bands releases, it paved the way for the critically acclaimed Breakout (1987) and its follow-up Taking the World by Storm (1988). The band would go on to release two more albums in the 1990s: 1991's Hold onto the Dream and 1992's Blow Out, before splitting up in 1992 which, according to singer and founding member Dave Hill, was because of fatigue.
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