Customer Reviews

Demons

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The stoner rock/metal pool is a considerably large one, full of bands venerating the 70's sound of the giants such as Sabbath and Deep Purple. As with most cult genres, there is a lot of rubbish floating about, and often the music is extremely one-dimensional and simply ripps off the sound. Of course there are some real gems around, and certainly "Demons" is a gravely overlooked stroke of genius. For one thing the general feel of the album is far superior to many of the stoner bands. The initial impression of the special edition version is accomplished, dark and refined cover art, recalling the mysterious and tongue-in-cheek stylings of Sabbath. This is wonderfully fresh when you consider the somewhat token art of many stoner bands, such as Bongzilla and Monster Magnet's wacky colours and cover designs. So straight away you get the sense of a "serious" group of musicians trying to professionally re-create the olden metal days with a new twist. And the job is done very admirably.

The first thing that strikes me about this album is the fantastic groove throughout that never at any point becomes tiresome. Too many times these type of bands simply re-hash repetitive riffing, but on "Demons" Amott's guitar writing is spot on. Sumptuous time changes and riff chopping/changing that simply floors you as a listener, making you guess the next direction they will take makes this a display of refined and ultimately skilful playing.

There are plenty of straight up hard rock songs, such as the energetic "Throwing Your Life Away", which acts as a perfect kick-start after the scene-setting intro. The next two tracks are once again simplistic in approach but executed with such energy and power, the chorus to "Salt In Your Wounds" is extremely catchy, and the commanding vocal delivery from JB in "One Man Army" is sure to get your adrenaline going. The last of the simple formula comes in "Treading Water", which while being decent, is possibly the weakest track on the album, as it simply becomes a bit mundane after a few listens.

In between the formulaic (but still very fun) rockers, Amott shows off his writing and playing ability on some absolutely gorgeous pieces. This is mostly in the middle of the album, in the form of "Through The Halls", "Dying Every Day", "Born To Die" and "In My Blood". These songs simply ooze class, mostly in the structure department, for example the dreamy, swimming verse and chorus of "Through The Halls" gives way to a thunderous sludging riff with excellent time changes and flowery guitar work. "Dying Every Day" is perhaps my favourite part of the album, it flows through so many different directions seamlessly, from the adrenaline pumping main riff, the slower dreamy chorus, then (similar to "Through The Halls") into a massively heavy low end riff, some more fine solos, time changes, riff changes...quite simply everything you can desire from a classic metal song. "In My Blood" is definitely the heaviest song on the album; JB's low growly vocals give it a dirty, gritty feeling, complemented perfectly by the most brutal of riffs, a definite killer track. Mention should also go to the fine closer `No One Heard', possibly the darkest song on the album with a fine `bleak' quality that ends a superb album with a fine sophisticated edge.

If you are a fan of the old metal days, giants such as Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Deep Purple etc...then you should seriously consider this album. It is horribly overlooked, but they seem to be getting more recognition with the release of `Demons', which is certainly deserved.

Demons is the newest addition in Spiritual Beggars catalog, this ensamble founded by ex-carcass Michael Ammott in this offer included Raninbow, Purpple and Dio influences in a interesting way, even Whitesnake similarities can be appreciated (70s Whitesnake, no way 80s Whitesnake), sound is very well structured in all parts , vocals, guitars, bass, drums and keyboards, purpples Jon Lord could have recorded that parts actually, JB s vocal mixture is able to perform like Gillan, or Dio and Coverdale sometimes, production is also awesome, in the spirit of the sound that is searched, Ammott (who is also coproducer) choosed analog tape for the recording sessions, so this warm vibe and mood can be tested in the final result, Demons have all the elements to be considered a classic album in the field of the so called stoner rock, and spiritual beggars have enough potential to become the leaders in the genre
HM

The stoner rock/metal pool is a considerably large one, full of bands venerating the 70's sound of the giants such as Sabbath and Deep Purple. As with most cult genres, there is a lot of rubbish floating about, and often the music is extremely one-dimensional and simply ripps off the sound. Of course there are some real gems around, and certainly "Demons" is a gravely overlooked stroke of genius. For one thing the general feel of the album is far superior to many of the stoner bands. The initial impression of the special edition version is accomplished, dark and refined cover art, recalling the mysterious and tongue-in-cheek stylings of Sabbath. This is wonderfully fresh when you consider the somewhat token art of many stoner bands, such as Bongzilla and Monster Magnet's wacky colours and cover designs. So straight away you get the sense of a "serious" group of musicians trying to professionally re-create the olden metal days with a new twist. And the job is done very admirably.

The first thing that strikes me about this album is the fantastic groove throughout that never at any point becomes tiresome. Too many times these type of bands simply re-hash repetitive riffing, but on "Demons" Amott's guitar writing is spot on. Sumptuous time changes and riff chopping/changing that simply floors you as a listener, making you guess the next direction they will take makes this a display of refined and ultimately skilful playing.

There are plenty of straight up hard rock songs, such as the energetic "Throwing Your Life Away", which acts as a perfect kick-start after the scene-setting intro. The next two tracks are once again simplistic in approach but executed with such energy and power, the chorus to "Salt In Your Wounds" is extremely catchy, and the commanding vocal delivery from JB in "One Man Army" is sure to get your adrenaline going. The last of the simple formula comes in "Treading Water", which while being decent, is possibly the weakest track on the album, as it simply becomes a bit mundane after a few listens.

In between the formulaic (but still very fun) rockers, Amott shows off his writing and playing ability on some absolutely gorgeous pieces. This is mostly in the middle of the album, in the form of "Through The Halls", "Dying Every Day", "Born To Die" and "In My Blood". These songs simply ooze class, mostly in the structure department, for example the dreamy, swimming verse and chorus of "Through The Halls" gives way to a thunderous sludging riff with excellent time changes and flowery guitar work. "Dying Every Day" is perhaps my favourite part of the album, it flows through so many different directions seamlessly, from the adrenaline pumping main riff, the slower dreamy chorus, then (similar to "Through The Halls") into a massively heavy low end riff, some more fine solos, time changes, riff changes...quite simply everything you can desire from a classic metal song. "In My Blood" is definitely the heaviest song on the album; JB's low growly vocals give it a dirty, gritty feeling, complemented perfectly by the most brutal of riffs, a definite killer track. Mention should also go to the fine closer `No One Heard', possibly the darkest song on the album with a fine `bleak' quality that ends a superb album with a fine sophisticated edge.

If you are a fan of the old metal days, giants such as Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Deep Purple etc...then you should seriously consider this album. It is horribly overlooked, but they seem to be getting more recognition with the release of `Demons', which is certainly deserved.

...I love this band...why haven't more people heard of them?...all six CD's draw from obvious vintage metal influences and they continue to evolve melodically with each recording..."Demons" and "On Fire" build on more of a classic Deep Purple/UFO/Uriah Heep groove, while maintaining some of the raw riffing of earlier releases...the "Beggars" manage to sound both fresh and familiar at the same time...the 2-cd version of "Demons" contains an extra "Live in Japan" cd...great stuff for those of us who fondly remember the golden days of heavy metal...

Anyone who's familiar with Michael Amott through his work with Arch Enemy, Carcass, Carnage, or any othe extreme metal band he played with (Candlemass, Kreator) might be quite surprised upon hearing his second band Spiritual Beggars. This band has been around since 1992 and finds Amott exploring a more groove-laden stoner rock type of music that is somewhat reminiscent of Trouble and the more classic 70's rock bands that run the gamut from Deep Purple to Uriah Heep to Black Sabbath.

Demons is the follow-up to their critically acclaimed 2002 release On Fire which was the debut release for current singer JB (Grand Magus). Supporting Amott are his Arch Enemy bandmate Sharlee D'Angelo (formerly of Mercyful Fate and Dismember), new Opeth keyboardist Per Wiberg, and Ludwig Witt on drums. The fact that the lineup hasn't changed for the last couple of years has resulted in a collective musical vision of the band members. The songs are very organic sounding, as if they were parts of jam sessions. Along with the classic 70's rock songs "Throwing Your Life Away" and "Salt in Your Wounds", there are also groove-filled darker cuts in the form of "Dying Every Day" and "Treading Water". Whilst it's Sharlee D'Angelo's throbbing bass work on the more straightforward songs that will catch your attention right away, the stoner tracks see keyboardist Per Wiberg shining. Wiberg uses plenty of Hammond organ sounds that bring Uriah Heep's earlier work to mind during the instrumental workout on the longest song "Dying Every Day". He also incorporates various Deep Purple-like analog keys and marries them with Amott's expressive guitar solos.

Granted there aren't any hits like "Left Brain Ambassadors" or "Killing Time" on Demons, this album is still Spiritual Beggars' darkest and most midtempo sounding work. It also branches out from the classic Beggars sound lending itself to varied influences and experimenting with more uncommon themes such as the pianos blending with exquisite cello and violion work on the short instrumental "Born to Die (reprise)". Older Spiritual Beggars may not get into it on the first listen, but it certainly is worth checking out, especially for Amott's terrific guitar playing and the whole band proving themselves as a tight unit who are eager to pay their influences a nice homage. Last but not least, Fredrik Nordstrom's production work is nothing short of stellar.

(Please note that this review has been written based on the standard edition of the album. There is also a special edititon of Demons that comes with a bonus "Live in Japan" disc featuring eight live tracks from the band's 2003 Tokyo concert.)

This album is a fine return to form from this great Swedish band. I did not think they could top 2002's 'On Fire', but somehow they did! Singer J.B. never falls short of amazing. He has got to be one of the greatest Hard Rock/Metal singers of the day. Michael Ammot's guitar playing is top notch and draws alot from his influences such as Michael Schenker, Robin Trower, and Frank Marino. If you are into Deep Purple and Dio era Rainbow, do yourself a favor and grab a copy of this. This along with 'Wolf's Return' by J.B.'s other band Grand Magus are my two picks for best albums of 2005.