While their imagery, song titles, and lyrics would have you think they were a proto-black metal band, Demon was one of the premiere melodic acts of the NWOBHM. Their first two albums, Night of the Demon (1981) and The Unexpected Guest (1982), are widely considered to be underground classics. It’s been over 40 years since Demon formed and they’re still going strong, led by frontman and sole original member, Dave Hill. We had the honor of sitting down with Hill to discuss the past, present, and future of these cult metal kings.
Who were your favorite bands and singers growing up?
Dave Hill: My favorite bands when growing up were The Beatles and Pink Floyd. Then Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Alex Harvey.
How did Demon form?
DH: Demon formed when I and an old friend of mine, Mal Spooner, who I’d always wanted to work with, decided to form a band and write some music. We were both looking for a new challenge.
Alongside Venom, Angel Witch, and Witchfynde, Demon was one of the leading occult themed acts of the NWOBHM. Did you and the band receive any blowback early on for your lyrics and imagery?
DH: Yeah, we had some protest from various religious orders, including the church, accusing us of being Satanists and devil worshippers. All that publicity just helped to build our popularity.
Demon’s core songwriting team in the 80s was yourself and late guitarist Mal Spooner. Did you and Mal have a specific formula when writing these songs?
DH: Mal and myself would always research our subject before we began to work on an album. We would then write the songs and present them to the band for rehearsal.
My favorite Demon song is “The Spell”. I have always loved the contrast of the evil lyrics with the radio friendly hard rock hooks. It’s practically the same template Ghost follows today. How did this song come to be?
DH: “The Spell” came about when we read about Aleister Crowley. In 1923, he supposedly attempted to call up the devil in an hotel apartment in Paris with a group of satanic high priests and devil worshipers. I think Mal and myself both were fans of well written songs with a strong melody and a hook to remember, in much the same way as Ghost does today. I believe they have mentioned Demon as an influence in the past.
You have always had a theatrical flair to your live performances. Considering many of the songs and albums are conceptual, is the visual aspect of the band just as important as the music?
DH: Yeah, we try to create a strong image to our albums. This gives us license to play around with the stage set, which I particularly feel a connection with and is important to the live set.
What is the most memorable show you have played thus far?
DH: There’s too many to mention. Hopefully it’ll be the the first one we play in Japan.
As the 80s went on, the band switched from heavy metal/hard rock to a more straightforward progressive rock sound. What led to this creative shift?
DH: When Mal and myself formed Demon, we decided we wanted to move on with our music with each album, in the way that artists like David Bowie and Pink Floyd had always done. We’d never make the same album twice, but remain creative.
This year saw the release of a brand new box set, Demonic Decade 1981-1991, featuring the first 8 Demon albums. Of these 8, do you have a favorite?
DH: It’s very difficult to pick a favourite, as each one has so many memories. But as I look back over the forty years, I can remember as though it was yesterday laying the tracks down to Night of the Demon in Cargo Studio in Rochdale and thinking, “I wonder if anyone will remember this album or Demon in twelve months time.” If it had never been for Mike Stone of Clay Records (now our manager and still friends) generosity, this album would never have been made. Nice one Mike.
When can we expect new music from Demon?
DH: We have a lot of material in the pipeline. We hope to be in the studio shortly to start recording the new product.
For more information on Demon, visit their website at www.demon-official.com