| Demoniac | |
| |
| Location of Origin | Wellington, New Zealand |
| Genre(s) | Black Metal, Power Metal |
| Years active | 1993-1999 |
| Record Label(s) | Osmose Productions |
| Associated Bands | DragonForce, Voice of Destruction, Head Like a Hole |
| Website | Demoniac.com |
| Current Members | Lindsay "Behemoth" Dawson, Sam "Heimdall" Totman, Herman "Shred" Li, Diccon Harper, James "FreekN" Jude |
| Past Members | "The Magnus", Mark "Adromolech" Hamill, Steve Francis |
Demoniac was a black and power metal band from New Zealand formed in 1993, in Wellington by the singer and bass player, Lindsay Dawson, guitarist Sam "Heimdall" Totman, and drummer Steve Francis. Three of the members went on to form DragonForce. Demoniac's rather unique musical style has been labeled as "blackened power metal". Even though the band is literally a black and power metal band, it is often confused as heavy metal.
Biography[]
The group had began playing black metal with Dawson and Totman adopting the stage names "Behemoth" (Dawson) and "Heimdall" (Totman), as well as the genre's defining trappings and symbolism such as corpse paint. The next year the band was joined by "The Magnus" on keyboards and drummer Mark "Adramolech" 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 Magnus left Demoniac.
The band's next album was in 1996, named "Stormblade", which featured a slightly more melodic and catchier black metal style as well as controversial tracks like "Hatred is Purity" and "Niggerslut" (which was instrumental). During a 2008 interview with Kerrang, Sam Totman was asked to explain what had 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 Demoniac were responsible for those songs but stated that while 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 either that the songs were intended to be tongue-in-cheek or that any far-right beliefs were held by individuals intelligent enough to realize that "far-right" does not equate to "racist".
Following "Stormblade" Demoniac 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 in 1998, Hong Kong-born guitarist Herman Li joined Demoniac and in October, drummer "Matej Satanc" was recruited. Demoniac began developing a high-speed melodic power metal style, dispensing with the black metal trappings and ideologies. In January 1999, the band headed into the studio with Cradle of Filth producer Mags to record their "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 it technically depicted the same image.
While Dawson had played bass on of Demoniac's recordings, the decision was made to then hire a bass player to allow him extra freedom during live performances. Diccon Harper, formerly of South African 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 guest "harsh backing vocals" in the album Inhuman Rampage by DragonForce.
Line-Up[]
Final Members[]
- 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 "Adromolech" Hamill - Drums (1994-1996)
- Steve Francis - Drums (1993-1994)
Discography[]
Demo Albums[]
- Rehearsal '93, 1993
- The Birth of Diabolic Blood, 1994
Full-Length Albums[]
- Prepare for War, 1994
- Stormblade, 1996
- The Fire and the Wind, 1999
Site[]
The site is offline. It was originally at: "http://www.demoniac.com"