“It’s in my blood.”
The first proper line of “Invincible” rather tells the story of a career.
Demon are making this record celebrating their 45th anniversary and it is typical of their work. They always manage to pull off a neat trick of being better than they ever get credit for.
Main man Dave Hill – the only founder member left – has piloted them through the decades, through the trends, and come out the other side.
And for a band called Demon who formed in 1979, they have never struck me as particularly “metal”, not in the sense of Maiden or Priest anyway. Instead “Face The Master” has all the bombast of Rainbow (and is sung about a million times better than Graham Bonnet would these days) and even when things get a bit heavier, like they do on “Ghost From The Past” there’s a proper concentration on melody.
Some of their earlier albums had a bit of a power metal thing going on and there are bits of that here, like on “Beyond The Darkside” as Dave Cotterell and Paul Hume combine on guitar.
Prog metal fans will find much to enjoy on the slower “Hole In The Sky”, sort of a Staffordshire answer to Symphony X, and honestly, the skill on “Invincible” is in its textures, its ability to move between different styles, which it does so well, “Break The Spell” being followed by the Uriah Heep-tinges of “Rise Up” is a case in point.
The title track gets fists up in the air, “Cradle To The Grave” keeps them there, and there’s a class about the rest, like “Breaking The Silence” and the reason for all of this. Well, you imagine it comes in the last one.
“Forever Seventeen” is a huge, soaring, poignant ballad, the sort of thing Magnum (RIP Tony) made their own. “Still searching for the magic, oh I am having fun,” goes the chorus, and that’s the point, surely? Why do anything else, when music still makes you feel “Invincible”?
Rating 8.5/10
