Night Demon "Outsider"

    Whether it be the band’s passionate classic old school heavy metal and hard rock style, or their relentless touring schedule which has taken them all around the world, Night Demon is a band that continues to confidently thrive by charging ahead at full speed. The band’s third full-length album, “Outsider,” is without question an album that sent the fanatical Night Demon fanbase into a frenzy upon hearing the news about a new album to follow-up, “Darkness Remains,” which was released back in 2017. 

    Although the band waited almost six years to put out their next full-length album, during that period they sure as hell were not kicking back and lazing around. The band embarked on constant tours and put out a live album as well as a compilation album featuring numerous new singles and covers called, “Year of the Demon.” Of course during the early years of the pandemic Night Demon like so may bands had to cut back on touring for a period time, but that did not stop the band from finding ways to connect with their fans and the band’s podcast series has provided fans with a tremendous amount of insight into the band’s history along with stories pertaining to how band approaches recording songs. 

     “Outsider,” is yet another chapter in the Night Demon story which has continued to thrive ever since their first self-titled debut four song EP. This current line-up with Jarvis Leatherby on bass/vocals, Armand John Anthony on guitar and Dusty Squires behind the drum kit, has proven to be an utterly strong heavy metal power trio. I would say that the band’s first album, "Curse of the Damned," is definitely more raw and fearsome, while “Darkness Remains,” showed a slight different side at times by putting great focus into the songwriting aspects as well as the production. Jarvis Leatherby is a tremendous lyricist who draws influence from NWOBHM and classic hard rock by crafting these profound stories where the chorus stays in your head and the words leave such an impact. 

    “Outsider,” might be the band’s most ambitious and unique album to date due to the fact that this is a concept album from start to finish. On previous Night Demon releases like, “Curse of the Damned,” there were songs which complimented each other and featured very vivid conceptual themes, but never did the band write a complete concept album. “Outsider,” brings together the supernatural world with an individuals thoughts and feelings that profoundly ties into what some people might experience in their day to day lives. During the pandemic Jarvis was staying in Northern Ireland and at times when listening to the album I can hear where having to deal with the isolation and feeling exiled around that period of time might have greatly influenced his songwriting for this album. 

    Lyrically, I really enjoy the title track off of this album and find the words to be extremely relatable. Night Demon’s sound has not drastically changed, except there are time when. you can hear some subtle adjustments. There is definitely more emphasis placed on coming up with catchy hooks to create very addictive sounding rhythms, but you there is a moment during the title track where the music slows down and creates a more doom like atmosphere. The song, “Outsider,” is a very dynamic track that I believe can appeal to wide range of rock and metal fans given the creative riffs and adrenaline pumping rhythms. 

    There are songs on the album like, “Obsidian” and “Escape from Beyond,” which do capture the triumphant sound of classic NWOBHM, although the music never comes across as cliché, nor presents itself as simple sounding like generic NWOBHM worship. On the song, “Beyond the Grave,” the band comes up with a very creative piece of music featuring some solid melodic arrangements. Armand’s guitar work really stands out throughout the track, especially in the beginning of the track where he comes up with these haunting chord progressions. 

    Another track off of the album that contains a plethora of epic compositions is the last song, “The Wrath.” From the melodic guitar and bass parts to the thunderous cymbal crashes, the song is a monumental sounding finale. Jarvis delivers the lyrics with such raw aggression to help bring to life the chaos that is conjured up by the instrumental parts. As the notes solemnly ring out and fade into the dark abyss, you stop and reflect upon the emotional journey feeling almost at ease as the music fades away. Also, I could not believe how the time flew by so quickly when listening to the album, because it really hooks you right from the beginning and you lose track of time as if you are stepping into another realm created by Night Demon. 

    In the end, Night Demon came up with a very creative third album and I do think that they found a way to step outside the box on this release. Even though this album might not feature the same hungry and ravenous energy which you can hear on early Night Demon recordings, the band demonstrates how they have become even more accomplished as songwriters by constructing a truly fascinating concept album. A concept album can be extremely hard for some fans to accept if a band has not done one before, so I strongly recommend listening to the entire album more than once before forming an opinion. Overall, this album is highly worth check out and in a perfect world would win a Metal Grammy if the people over at the Grammy Awards actually pulled their heads out of their rears. 

Check out the video for the song "Outsider" below:

Night Demon's Website:

https://nightdemon.net/