Demon Lung – A Dracula

The Ramones may believe in miracles, but I believe in the supernatural.  Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, Bigfoot, UFO's, all that stuff.  Why wouldn't you?  It makes life a lot more fun.  Except for when a band names their album “A Dracula”.  Which to me means that there is not just Dracula, but multiple Draculas, if one is just “A” Dracula.  This is not cool.

The band, though, Demon Lung, now they are cool.  That may not be what they are going for, but they are.  This album is definitely a grower, but it is so rewarding when you give it multiple spins.  This is heavy music, and it doesn't fit neatly and politely into a single genre.  There are all kinds of nuances that you do not notice if you only listen once or twice.  It is by turns doomy, sludgy, thrashy, stoner-y, and sometimes several of these things all at once.  If you are at all into any of those styles of music you gotta get this in your collection.

I also like that they are into obscure horror, which to me is the really good stuff.  There is a movie called “Alucarda” (A Dracula backwards), which is really not a vampire flick at all, but its kind of creepy and atmospheric and is the inspiration for this album.  For some reason, many who listen to heavy music are also into horror films, and vice versa, and it makes things even more fun.

If you are fan of those mighty Sabbathian riffs that hit you right between the eyes and make you suddenly wonder what day it is, there are some tunes on this album that will be right up your alley.  I don't at all mean to say they sound like Sabbath, just that they develop those crushing riffs that hit you in the same way.  “I Am Haunted” is definitely one of the tracks that will do that to you.  “Gypsy Curse” also lumbers along in the same vein, delightfully heavy and crushing.  Riffs that sound as though they want to extinguish all life by flattening it under the weight of a well struck guitar.  And then jumping into a nice galloping swing before slowing down again to pummel us all to death.

“Raped By The Serpent” is another favorite.  It's one of those heavy yet swinging numbers that make you close your eyes and nod your head along to the beat.  I like this entire album because you can just get lost in the music, you can lie there with the headphones on and let the sounds take you away.  There's a feeling of being washed clean, as though whatever you have been through, whatever your day has been like, is just gone.  The music has scrubbed you clean and left you ready to face whatever is next.  It recharges your soul and energizes your body.  I have always loved heavy music like this because it has always made me feel this way.  Let Demon Lung baptize you with the power of the heavy.

- ODIN




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