Description

2002 remastered with 3 bonus tracks

Id say this is where Demon became a heavy metal band again. Weve got a thicker guitar pushed more toward the front (and a variant of the archetypal Welcome to Hell/2 Minutes to Midnight riff on the title track), anthemic drumming and choruses, and more energy with chugging guitar and a plethora of Dave Hills raspy screaming. We also have a ton of synthetic instruments playing all sorts of interesting melodies that pop up everywhere; not making it more metal, but its a prominent enough feature to note. The opening track is Life On the Wire, a song about substance abuse told from the perspective of an addict struggling with whether he wants to quit. The song is basically the anthem of all drug abuse songs, and the long build-up to the vocals works very well. One song they really nailed is Englands Glory, which is an ultra-patriotic metal song unto Great Britain whose lyrics brag about the countrys legacy from William Shakespeare to The Beatles to various military and sports victories. Its done in Johnny Cash Ive Been Everywhere style where Dave Hill rattles off as much historical and cultural references as he can in the verses; its so fast that hes intelligible without the lyrics sheet. Despite being a proud American, it made me want to be British just for a little bit. Another interesting song, because Demon have a gift for penning intriguing ideas for song lyrics, is Hollywood. Its an observation of the L.A. glam metal scene of the late 1980s, and its partly critical but partly envious. Demon always wanted and deserved to make it bigger than they did, and by 1987 I think they bitter sweetly realized that they were never destined to be famous, but would find an even more fulfilling contentment with their small league of true and dedicated fans. The Finale closes the record with a medley of synthesized tunes from various songs and some nice guitar work. Those synthesizers are really prominent, and it makes me feel like Im listening to a much better and more metallic version of Bon Jovi. Thats meant as a compliment, in case I wasnt clear. When the album is over, its obvious that this is not Demons best effort (most of the songs I didnt mention are merely good due to not being tightened up perfectly), but its certainly better than Heart of Our Time that came before it. Dave Hills voice is something to appreciate though, as he sounds more groggy and hoarse than he usually does; its a nice dose of variety, because I love rougher singers. Just go back and listen to the mans throat on Through These Eyes. It makes me wonder if he was ever a chain smoker, and if so, how does he manage to still sing so melodically when necessary? Id recommend Taking the World By Storm before this; its the same style of metal except heavier and superiorly composed. Dont avoid Breakout though; a handful of these songs are a real tasty treat, and none of them are bad, just a tad below those mountainous Demon standards. They were still recovering from the tragic loss of ex-guitarist and composer Mal Spooner, but they were getting it back together here and would soon become a better band then they ever were before.

Track listing:
1. Life On The Wire
2. Hurricane
3. Breakout
4. Living In The Shadow
5. England’s Glory
6. Standing In The Shadow
7. Hollywood
8. The Big Chance
9. Through These Eyes
10. Finale
11. End Piece
12. Tonight
13. Life On The Wire-Acoustic 2002