-----------------------------
General Information
-----------------------------
Artist...............: Demon
Album................: The Unexpected Guest (Re-Released in 2003)
Release Date.........: July 1982
Genre................: NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal)
Duration.............: 01:05:52 min
Audio Format.........: MP3
Bitrate..............: CBR 192 HQ
Channels.............: Stereo / 44,100 hz
Tags.................: ID3 v1.1, ID3 v2.3
Included.............: M3U, Covers
-----------------------------
Release Notes
-----------------------------
Track Listing:
01. Intro: An Observation 01:24
02. Don't Break The Circle 04:45
03. The Spell 03:42
04. Total Possession 03:52
05. Sign Of A Madman 04:32
06. Victim Of Fortune 04:42
07. Have We Been Here Before 04:42
08. Strange Institution 04:51
09. The Grand Illusion 03:44
10. Beyond The Gates 04:20
11. Deliver Us From Evil 05:19
12. The CD version has a 12th track called "Outro" (0:39)
Re-Released in 2003 on cd by Dead Ringer, with four bonus tracks:
13. Don't Break the Circle (1988 Remix) 4:53
14. Have we Been Here Before? (Out-Take) 4:48
15. Victim of Fortune (Out-Take) 4:42
16. Strange Institution (Out-Take) 5:37
Credits:
Dave Hill : Vocals
Mal Spooner : Rhythm Guitar
Les Hunt : Lead Guitar
Chris Ellis : Bass
John Wright : Drums
Album Review:
Our tales of 'The Unexpected' start with a ponder-worthy sleeve. In swimmable blue tones,
the front cover is seemingly the distorted face - lips in Jagger-mouthed sprawl, tongue
behung Simmons-style, nostrils flared - of say a baboon, or a dog... or a daemon.
But before you quakers stretch for your Bibles, scrutinise the picture closely. It's a
rippling torso, straight out of a Batman comic's Bullworker ad. Unexpected. Weird.
Within the gatefold is worse. Photographs of two ogreish manifestations adorn it, one
white-bearded, wrinkled and not unresemblant to Ian Anderson, the other wombish, bald and
like his brother, Angry (Are you sure? - Ed.).
The first is actually the mysterious Father Of Time referred to on these Stoke hell-stokers'
first sacrifice 'Night Of The Demon' last year. The second pertains to a song, 'Sign Of A Madman',
on this new, improved offering. And the remainder is filled by lyrics.
I say 'new, improved' because this album has dispensed with the schizophrenic insecurity of
'NOTD' - where if you remember, Demon dabbled unsurely between the diabolical Dark Arts on
one side and a straight-down-the-line rattle overflip.
Here we undividedly confront the supernatural, the fourth dimension, the psychic, and the
evil with all the brash boldness of the USS Enterprise. Side one sets the atmosphere immediately
with the nightmarish horror-movie 'Intro: An Observation', picturing the high-strung suspense
of the Unexpected Guest's Hitchcock-like slow footsie approach to a helplessly panting girl.
Then, with a gutbucket surge, we sear into 'Don't Break The CircIe', the first standout track
with a greedy amount of wheezy, red-hot riffs just to make sure, and ominous chants of the title
thrown in to transport you to the mystic scenario of seances.
Instantly it's established that Demon's forte is liveIy, luscious HM, not, as you might expect,
anything more doom-laden and Sabs-like. Pete Hinton's zingy production is responsible for
many-a-fold an enhancement, bringing some insipidly ordinary songs to life.
'The Spell' bubbles like witches brew in a cauldron with the powerhouse pounding of John Wright,
buzzing synth and bluntly bruising guitar.
'Total Possession', a titillating tale with overtones of The Exorcist, puts myriad riffing into
a format viz UFO around 'Obssession' time, an influence also entertainingly evident on ,Beyond
The Gates' and technically certain due to Les Hunt's wah-wahed lead seeps.
The aforementioned 'Sign Of A Madman' paean to Lennon's slayer, the raunchy Rabin-esque 'Have
We Been Here Before?' and 'Victim Of Fortune' all ooze class of a distinctly American supposition,
but retain sufficiently Brit rogueish heaviness. Almost throughout, a constantly roof-thumpin'
energy threshold is maintained, but basking in melody, Demon might have discovered their supreme
success formula.
Only in 'Strange Institution', my personal fave, are the brakes applied in spicey, slow-burning
epical style, for what seems to be a lament for a vegetablised man on life support systems (?!).
But 'The Grand Illusion' soon resurrects the level, courtesy the slicing swifthand rhythm guitar
of Mal Spooner, and here vocalist Dave Hill delivers his most gravel-scrapen growl in reciting
the alcoholic blues (which are, of course 'The work of the devil').
Elsewhere his voice could be Meat Loaf's or possibly Phil Mogg's or Graham Bonnet's rotating
at about 20 rpm.
The so-so 'Deliver Us From Evil' closes the record, a foreboding warning of the predicament
of sinners when their number's up, in which I think you'll see that The Unexpected Guest is,
in fact, death... and as the needle spirals out, the Guest spookily leaves, leaden-footed,
no sound of the panting girl to be heard...
I guess you could call Demon the thinking man's Venom.
http://rapidshare.com/files/164747459/0851982.rar