Demoniac
Encyclopedia
Demoniac were a heavy metal
band from New Zealand
formed in Wellington in 1993 by singer and bass
player Lindsay Dawson, guitar
ist Sam Totman
and Drummer Steve Francis. Three of the members went on to form DragonForce
. Their rather unique musical style has often been labeled as "blackened power metal".
with Dawson and Totman adopting the stage names "Behemoth" and "Heimdall" as well as the genre's defining trappings and symbolism such as corpse paint
. The following year the band was joined by The Magus on keyboards
and drummer
Mark Hamill from the avant-garde rock band Head Like a Hole
. This line-up produced the band's first album Prepare for War
, after which Magus left Demoniac.
Demoniac's next album was 1996's Stormblade
that featured a slightly more melodic and catchier black metal style as well as controversial tracks like "Hatred is Purity" and "Niggerslut". During a 2008 interview with Kerrang, Totman was asked to explain what appeared to be a White Power slant to some of Demoniac's lyrics on songs such as these. Totman shrugged off the allegations stating that other members of the band were responsible for those songs but stated that whilst he did not agree with the ideas expressed in the lyrics he believed that - as long as the music is of a high standard - it is wrong to judge songs on their lyrical or political content and they could be enjoyed regardless. In any case, the later introduction of Herman Li
, a non-caucasian, into the band would seem to indicate that the songs were intended to be tongue-in-cheek.
Following Stormblade the band signed to French label Osmose Productions
and toured throughout western Europe on the World Domination Tour with Dark Tranquillity
, Enslaved
and several other bands. At this point Dawson and Totman decided to remain in England
and Hamill departed the line-up.
During July 1998 Hong Kong
-born guitarist Herman Li
joined Demoniac and in October drummer Matej Setinc was recruited. The band began developing a high-speed melodic power metal style, dispensing with the black metal trappings and ideologies. In January 1999 Demoniac headed into the studio with Cradle of Filth
producer Mags to record The Fire and the Wind
. The original cover featured a black and white photograph of one of the band members drinking while having sex and was subsequently banned; the final release artwork was heavily censored, although depicted the same image.
While Dawson had played bass on all the band's recordings, the decision was made to then hire a bass player to allow him extra freedom during live performance. Diccon Harper, formerly of South Africa
n death metal
band Voice of Destruction then joined Demoniac. Before the end of the year, however, Demoniac had come to an end. All members except Dawson formed DragonHeart, which later became known as DragonForce
.
Dawson later appeared as a guest in the album Inhuman Rampage
by DragonForce.
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
formed in Wellington in 1993 by singer and bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
player Lindsay Dawson, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist Sam Totman
Sam Totman
Ian Samuel "Sam" Totman is a guitarist and main songwriter for the power metal band DragonForce. Totman was born in England, but moved to New Zealand at an early age...
and Drummer Steve Francis. Three of the members went on to form DragonForce
DragonForce
DragonForce are an English power metal band from London. Formed in 1999, the group is known for its long and fast guitar solos, fantasy-based lyrics, and electronic sounds in their music to add to their retro video game-influenced sound. Guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman are the only two...
. Their rather unique musical style has often been labeled as "blackened power metal".
Biography
The group began playing black metalBlack metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
with Dawson and Totman adopting the stage names "Behemoth" and "Heimdall" as well as the genre's defining trappings and symbolism such as corpse paint
Corpse paint
Corpse paint or corpsepaint is a style of black-and-white makeup, used mainly by black metal bands during live concerts and photo shoots. The makeup is used to intensify the bands' imagery of evil, inhumanity, and corpse-like decay. It is most commonly used just on the face, but also on arms and...
. The following year the band was joined by The Magus on keyboards
Musical keyboard
A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...
and drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Mark Hamill from the avant-garde rock band Head Like a Hole
HLAH
HLAH is a rock band from Wellington, New Zealand.-History:HLAH formed in Wellington, originally consisting of Nigel Regan, Mark Hamill, Nigel Beazley and Andrew Durno....
. This line-up produced the band's first album Prepare for War
Prepare For War
Prepare for War is the debut full-length album of Demoniac. The style of music on this album is raw, yet somewhat epic, black metal. Prepare for War is also the name of a song by DragonForce on their Sonic Firestorm album, but the two have nothing to do with each other musically.The symphonic intro...
, after which Magus left Demoniac.
Demoniac's next album was 1996's Stormblade
Stormblade
Stormblade is the second album of Demoniac. On this album the music took on more of a Power metal sound that retained a punkish black metal vibe...
that featured a slightly more melodic and catchier black metal style as well as controversial tracks like "Hatred is Purity" and "Niggerslut". During a 2008 interview with Kerrang, Totman was asked to explain what appeared to be a White Power slant to some of Demoniac's lyrics on songs such as these. Totman shrugged off the allegations stating that other members of the band were responsible for those songs but stated that whilst he did not agree with the ideas expressed in the lyrics he believed that - as long as the music is of a high standard - it is wrong to judge songs on their lyrical or political content and they could be enjoyed regardless. In any case, the later introduction of Herman Li
Herman Li
Herman Li is a British Chinese musician, best known as a guitarist for the power metal band DragonForce.-Playing style:Li draws influences from rock, all sub-genres of metal as well as video game music and often mimics sounds from popular retro games from the late 80s, early-90s arcade, and PC games...
, a non-caucasian, into the band would seem to indicate that the songs were intended to be tongue-in-cheek.
Following Stormblade the band signed to French label Osmose Productions
Osmose Productions
Osmose Productions is a French independent record label created in 1991 by Hervé Herbaut, after he had spent three years running a small mail order company...
and toured throughout western Europe on the World Domination Tour with Dark Tranquillity
Dark Tranquillity
Dark Tranquillity is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Gothenburg. They are one of the longest-standing bands from the original Gothenburg metal scene, and are one of the most integral pioneers of the melodic death metal genre of music....
, Enslaved
Enslaved (band)
Enslaved is a progressive black metal band formed in June 1991 in Sveio, Norway, and currently based out of Bergen, Norway.-History:Enslaved was formed in June 1991 by Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson when they were 13 and 17 years old, respectively. The band name was inspired by an Immortal demo...
and several other bands. At this point Dawson and Totman decided to remain in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Hamill departed the line-up.
During July 1998 Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
-born guitarist Herman Li
Herman Li
Herman Li is a British Chinese musician, best known as a guitarist for the power metal band DragonForce.-Playing style:Li draws influences from rock, all sub-genres of metal as well as video game music and often mimics sounds from popular retro games from the late 80s, early-90s arcade, and PC games...
joined Demoniac and in October drummer Matej Setinc was recruited. The band began developing a high-speed melodic power metal style, dispensing with the black metal trappings and ideologies. In January 1999 Demoniac headed into the studio with Cradle of Filth
Cradle of Filth
Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band, formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic black metal, and other extreme metal styles, while their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily...
producer Mags to record The Fire and the Wind
The Fire And The Wind
The Fire And The Wind is the final album of the New Zealand Heavy metal band Demoniac, the only one to be recorded following their relocation to London. The black metal sound of the previous two albums was almost completely eschewed on this recording, with only vocalist Behemoth's shrieking vocals...
. The original cover featured a black and white photograph of one of the band members drinking while having sex and was subsequently banned; the final release artwork was heavily censored, although depicted the same image.
While Dawson had played bass on all the band's recordings, the decision was made to then hire a bass player to allow him extra freedom during live performance. Diccon Harper, formerly of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
band Voice of Destruction then joined Demoniac. Before the end of the year, however, Demoniac had come to an end. All members except Dawson formed DragonHeart, which later became known as DragonForce
DragonForce
DragonForce are an English power metal band from London. Formed in 1999, the group is known for its long and fast guitar solos, fantasy-based lyrics, and electronic sounds in their music to add to their retro video game-influenced sound. Guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman are the only two...
.
Dawson later appeared as a guest in the album Inhuman Rampage
Inhuman Rampage
-Personnel:DragonForce*ZP Theart – lead vocals, backing vocals*Herman Li – lead guitar, backing vocals, mixing, engineering, artwork*Sam Totman – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, mixing*Vadim Pruzhanov – keyboards, piano, backing vocals, mixing...
by DragonForce.
Line-up
- Lindsay "Behemoth" Dawson - Vocals, Bass
- Sam "Heimdall" Totman - Guitars, Keyboards
- Herman "Shred" Li - Guitars
- Diccon Harper - Bass
- James "FreekN" Jude - Drums
Past members
- "The Magnus" - Keyboards (1994)
- Mark "Adramolech" Hamill - Drums (1994–1996)
- Steve Francis-Drums (1993–1994)