Demons Down are an international hard rock band founded by vocalist James Robledo (Sinner’s Blood) and guitarist Francesco Savino (False Memories), along with (second) guitarist Jimi Bell (House Of Lords, Autograph), drummer Ken Mary (Fifth Angel, Alice Cooper Band), and bassist Chuck Wright (Quiet Riot). The Bands debut album ‘I Stand’ was released in 2023…
…featuring eleven songs of classic hard rock across a fifty-minute run time. With musical influences from all around the world, Demons Down is hard to pigeonhole to one country with regards to their sound. Is it British? European? American? Even South American? Fuck, it’s all of them! Every song on offer has its own identity and character – the title song ‘I Stand’ launching the album in an atmospheric tension-fuelled mood! And as ‘I Stand’ (the song) progresses, it adopts the heavy-hitting foot-stomping style of hard rock and the added weight of some fairly bone-crunching punches too! With energy levels rising higher than the fucking price of energy – ‘Disappear’ is a devastating gallop of fast-paced hard rock! Demons Down deliver a classic-sounding American slab of rock to warm the ears of every rocker, regardless of age! Cause rock is timeless and transcends all ages!
Shifting gears, the band strode into melodic rock territory with ‘Down In A Hole’, proceeding to punch hard, holding its head up high with a swagger reminiscent of the arrogance of rock legends Aerosmith! Demons Down portray many American traits across the albums opening threesome – ‘On My Way To You’ proceeding to fall headlong into ballad country! And a strong “raise your lighters in the air” feeling descends upon the album, every listener beginning a gentle sway from side to side motion. A clear shift in musical direction, ‘On My Way To You’ is a timely mellow moment to allow a breather from the high energy of the album’s opening gambit. Cause for sure you know the energy’s coming back – and quickly too! ‘Where Will Our Tears Fall’ immediately returning the energetic and heavy-hitting nature of earlier – the band slamming every listener with a barrage of hard rocking hard rock!
And with a buzzing guitar sound to take you back a few decades, ‘Book Of Love’ is an old-school-sounding rock song that begs for head nodding and foot tapping! The genre-changing rock bands of the eighties, such as Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, and Poison, all feature as inspiration for ‘Book Of Love’ – a song that you can add to your driving anthems compilation! Along with ‘Stranded In The Middle Of Nowhere’ – simply because if you get lost in the country while listening to Demons Down, you may just become stranded in the middle of nowhere (insert “laughing” emoji here). Hopefully, you won’t – but if you do, you’ll have a couple of cracking tunes to listen to!
And oh my God – these few songs write their own story, cause if a helpful motorist finds you, they’re going to say “follow me” – which happens to be the title of the next song!
‘Follow Me’ is a heavy-hitting slab of rock, heavier than anything heard so far, displaying a meaner vibe, yet keeping the bands incredible melodious intent well and truly intact.
I really can’t believe this, but the “stranded in the middle of nowhere” saga that’s beginning to make me giggle like an fucking idiot – boldly marches on! Cause maybe the helpful motorist is not that helpful after all, leading you ‘To The Edge Of The World’ – and a slower tempo but nonetheless hard-hitting hard rock song to keep you gently nodding your head back and forth. All album long Demons Down has hit hard, rocking heads and tapping feet with every song that goes by – and I apologise for my childish humour with regards to my vivid imagination running wild with a little tale. But the tale is not over yet – ‘Search Over The Horizon’ surely an instinctive response to reaching the edge of the world! But as far as the band, the album and the song is concerned, ‘Search Over The Horizon’ is yet another melodic rock swagger with ample heaviness to keep all the rockers very happy. The band, not yet lifting their foot off the pedal with just one song left to go – ‘Only The Brave’ possibly the punchiest of all the punchy songs on offer. And one helluva sing a long-able chorus to boot!
Overall, a heavy-hitting and punchy journey of hard rock, chock full of highly melodic and immensely infectious songs.
TRACKLIST
I Stand
Disappear
Down In A Hole
On My Way To You
Where Will Our Tears Fall
Book Of Love
Stranded In The Middle Of Nowhere
Follow Me
To The Edge Of The World
Search Over The Horizon
Only The Brave
Demons Down: Facebook
Release Year: 2023
Label: Frontiers Music s.r.l.
Category: Album
Country: International
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire and Metal-Roos.
