Search - Demon :: The Unexpected Guest

4.5 stars - Demon's best album and a NWOBHM classic

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 02/28/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's good to see the Demon albums getting the remaster treatment. They certainly deserve it. Demon was always one of the more underrated New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) bands - come to think of it, aside from Maiden, Saxon and a few others, they were all underrated.



The Unexpected Guest, released in 1982, is Demon's second album, and a real classic. It alternates between being straight-ahead heavy metal and dramatic, melodic hard rock, sounding like equal parts Saxon and Uriah Heep. The combination works quite well. Songs like "Don't Break the Circle" and "Deliver Us from Evil" are powerful metal anthems, and dramatic pomp-rock numbers like "Victim of Fortune" and "Have We Been Here Before" would have been at home on a Magnum album. The Unexpected Guest is primarily a metal album, but there are enough melodic, accessible songs included that it really should have appealed to a wider audience. I imagine the band's sinister name scared off a fair share of potential listeners.



If you're a metal fan, particularly fan of the classic 1980's British metal sound, and haven't heard Demon, I highly recommend checking them out. The Unexpected Guest is a great album to start with, as it's easily their most "metal" offering and probably their best album overall (yes, even better than Night of the Demon).



Edition Notes: Dead Ringer's 2003 reissue of The Unexpected Guest provides a much needed upgrade, not to mention getting this classic album back in circulation after a long absence. The remastered sound breathes new life into the album, and there are four bonus tracks included for good measure. The bonus tracks are remixes or outtakes of songs on the main album, and don't really add much. The liner notes could have been better too. The lyrics are printed inside, along with a very brief note from Dave Hill. Some additional artwork, photos, or commentary (see Castle's excellent NWOBHM reissues) would have been a nice touch."

Give this album a chance - it's a gem!

L. B. Ivarsson | Rock City | 01/29/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Demon released "The unexpected guest" in 1982. Around this time bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Motorhead etc were in focus. Demon might be considered a heavy metal band but they don't sound like Maiden or Priest. It's kinda hard to describe the music 'cos I can't find any band to compare them with... The songs are well written, catchy and melodic but has nothing at all in common with so called pop-metal, hair-metal or whatever you choose to call it. The lyrics show a curiousity in life after death but has nothing to do with devil worship.Sometimes I think reveiwers give albums 5 stars without even thinking about it - "if it's good, alright I'll give it a 5". But this album is in my opinion well worth 5 stars, or for that matter - [$$$]!If you like this one, maybe you find the first one "Night of the demon" interesting but have in mind that "Night of the demon" isn't by far as good as "The unexpected guest". And if you decide to buy Demon's other albums - remember that you do it on your own risk of disappointment!!"

A classic

Paul Sirugo | Lindome Sweden | 09/27/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of the best Heavy Metal albums ever released - in my opinion. I bought it already in 1983 and I have kept playing it occasionally since that day - for over 20 years now!Demon took the metal world by storm with this album in the early 80's. Three of my ten metal favorites are on this album only: "Beyond the gates", "Have we been here before" and "Don't break the circle". The guitar solo of "Don't break the circle" is a solo that you can listen to a million times without getting tired of it. "Beyond the gates" is the best heavy metal piece I know of.Demon plays catchy melodic but really heavy metal not really comparable to any other group.After this album one of the group members died tragically and Demon somewhat changed the way they wrote lyrics and melodies. Also "Night of the demon" is a really good album but a bit newbie-styled.
Well worth the money though."