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DEMON HEAD - 'Ride the Wilderness'
(Caligary Records 029)
I've decided that for this webzine I'm not going to use bog standard stock photos, but photos that I have taken myself. Not only do I feel that it adds somewhat of a personal flourish but it also means that you can see that I have experienced the cassette in question fully. I'm starting things off with an album which I have had on almost every day for the last week. A random buy from Discogs in with a load of other random buys, I guess what first drew my attention was the sheep adorning the front cover. I mean think about it, discounting sheep skulls, how often do you see live sheep on the cover of a metal album? I of course discovered once my purchase had been received that when you fold out the J-Card that up above the rock ledge and the sheep there is a flying saucer, random in the extreme. Maybe that is what they meant by 'Ride the Wilderness'?
I find 'Undertaker', the albums opening tracks to be soothing and satisfying in ways that most albums just can't come close too. Lyrically 'Undertaker' flows superbly and whilst the band have gone for a rhyming parlance throughout it never feels forced or rough around the edges. I'm a big doom metal aficionado and I like how Demon Head fuse their doom sound with hard rock roots so that whilst bass laden and packing seriously groove drenched riffs, the emphasis always remains on the melody, the lyrics and the flow on the music whereas some of your more stoner doom bands are more intent on creating a wall of noise. That of course has it's place but I really dig the dynamic that Demon Head put out within the opening track. 'Winterland' is one of my favourites from this album despite the accented use of the word 'Winterland' which comes out more like 'Winterly'. Here though the lead guitarist can really open up the taps and experiment with some ear catching riffs and hooks, and despite the lyrics again playing a large part of hooking you into the song, the musicianship is allowed to flow and to breathe.
Whilst it doesn't feel like the main theme of the album I do sense a changing of the seasons as 'Ride the Wilderness', from the glacial 'Winterlands' to the burgeoning, resurgent 'Revelations of April', which not only feels warmer but also has a more free spirit kind of feel. Demon Head have a very 70's rock vibe to them which they combine effortlessly with a strong bass presence to really add to the doom influence. Each songs is crafted sublimely and had a melody and vibe that soothes directly to your core. Weighing in at a longer pace to those the preceded it, the albums title track feels somewhat more progressive and as time elapses, far more intense too. Here both guitarists come together in unison to weave a hypnotic tapestry of sound, intricate riffs rolling over one another whilst the steady rumble of bass guitar and drums solidify and steel the song into a valley of doom rock perfection, and as the lyrics die away once more the music takes over and wraps itself around your heart and brain and draws you bodily into it's warm embrace as Side A slowly draws to a close...
... and 'Book of Changes' grooves its way into Side B. Once more Demon Head will lyrically ensnare your soul into the myriad of stories they are telling as deep bass grooves and pleasing guitar melodies warm your heart. Each track is crafted to near perfection with guitar solos that take me back to my love for progressive rock, bass medleys that speak to my doom fanatic side and vocals that excite, tantalise and make you want to hear more. 'Ride the Wilderness' is that perfect album for a night such as tonight, a cold, windy and wet November night, blackness outside, the inhospitable world filled with equally inhospitable people. Yet inside it is warm, you are curled up in a comfy chair and Demon Head are making everything right inside your little bubble, the warm fuzzy glow inside your soul that only comes from an album you truly love!
I find 'Undertaker', the albums opening tracks to be soothing and satisfying in ways that most albums just can't come close too. Lyrically 'Undertaker' flows superbly and whilst the band have gone for a rhyming parlance throughout it never feels forced or rough around the edges. I'm a big doom metal aficionado and I like how Demon Head fuse their doom sound with hard rock roots so that whilst bass laden and packing seriously groove drenched riffs, the emphasis always remains on the melody, the lyrics and the flow on the music whereas some of your more stoner doom bands are more intent on creating a wall of noise. That of course has it's place but I really dig the dynamic that Demon Head put out within the opening track. 'Winterland' is one of my favourites from this album despite the accented use of the word 'Winterland' which comes out more like 'Winterly'. Here though the lead guitarist can really open up the taps and experiment with some ear catching riffs and hooks, and despite the lyrics again playing a large part of hooking you into the song, the musicianship is allowed to flow and to breathe.
Whilst it doesn't feel like the main theme of the album I do sense a changing of the seasons as 'Ride the Wilderness', from the glacial 'Winterlands' to the burgeoning, resurgent 'Revelations of April', which not only feels warmer but also has a more free spirit kind of feel. Demon Head have a very 70's rock vibe to them which they combine effortlessly with a strong bass presence to really add to the doom influence. Each songs is crafted sublimely and had a melody and vibe that soothes directly to your core. Weighing in at a longer pace to those the preceded it, the albums title track feels somewhat more progressive and as time elapses, far more intense too. Here both guitarists come together in unison to weave a hypnotic tapestry of sound, intricate riffs rolling over one another whilst the steady rumble of bass guitar and drums solidify and steel the song into a valley of doom rock perfection, and as the lyrics die away once more the music takes over and wraps itself around your heart and brain and draws you bodily into it's warm embrace as Side A slowly draws to a close...
... and 'Book of Changes' grooves its way into Side B. Once more Demon Head will lyrically ensnare your soul into the myriad of stories they are telling as deep bass grooves and pleasing guitar melodies warm your heart. Each track is crafted to near perfection with guitar solos that take me back to my love for progressive rock, bass medleys that speak to my doom fanatic side and vocals that excite, tantalise and make you want to hear more. 'Ride the Wilderness' is that perfect album for a night such as tonight, a cold, windy and wet November night, blackness outside, the inhospitable world filled with equally inhospitable people. Yet inside it is warm, you are curled up in a comfy chair and Demon Head are making everything right inside your little bubble, the warm fuzzy glow inside your soul that only comes from an album you truly love!