Night Demon – Darkness Remains Review

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Night Demon, one of the most promising bands of this new wave of Traditional Heavy Metal bands, deliver us this precisous gem called “Darkness Remains,” an album that delves deep into one of the darkest period of Heavy Metal music, the 1984-7 era when most of our beloved bands tried to reach wider audiences and failed miserably. The intro of album opener “Welcome to the Night” tells this tail better than any words heavily inspired on Iron Maiden’s “Somewhere in Time” including the synthetized guitars that raised so much controversy. I say a band has to get a lot of courage to honor this period of Metal music.

As an album “Darkness Remains” is a trip to the past with all the pros and cons. I, myself, only see pros in it because Night Demon are a heel of a band. This is so because they were inspired by the best. Instrumentwise there is a lot of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Saxon. Most notably Iron Maiden as album opener “Welcome to the Night” and the instrumental “Flight of the Manticore” tell my dear child of the night. “Flight of the Manticore” is full of a very delightfull and delicate instrumental passages where the guitars shine. A gem in an album full of them. The insane changes of tempo and cadence may make my dear child of the night dizzy as they change all the time during it. One of the reasons why Night Demon are one of the most promising bands of this new wave of Traditional Heavy Metal bands. Album tittle “Darkness Remains” is also a trip to the past as it honors Black Sabbath in one of their darkest moments. Once again the guitars are the highlight. There is a hidden mood of “Technical Ecstasy” in it. Not a Black Sabbath era bands remember much. Black Sabbath are homaged again with the cover of Mob Rules’ “Trun Up the NIght.” The crowning finale is again with a cover. The unexpected, and almost unperceivable Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” From where I’m standing, the outcome is very different from the original track, although a honest cover.

Initially seeing the light of day in April 2017, “Darkness Remains” found Night Demon forcefully silencing any speculation of a sophomore slump or a one-album wonder. And they did it with flying colors. A hell of an album. Sure it is.

P.S.: After writing all this I realized I wrote this review in 2017… My, my, my…

Night Demon “Darkness Remains” was released on October 04th via SPV / Steamhammer Records.

Track Listing:

  1. Welcome to the Night
  2. Hallowed Ground
  3. Maiden Hell
  4. Stranger in the Room
  5. Life on the Run
  6. Dawn Rider
  7. Black Widow
  8. On Your Own
  9. Flight of the Manticore
  10. Darkness Remains
  11. Turn Up the Night (Bonustrack)
  12. We Will Rock You (Bonustrack)

Watch Welcome to the Night” official music video here: