Demo is the 1984 Demo released from the Swedish Heavy Metal band, Sauron
Swedish Heavy Metal Magic with female vocals. Re-release of the hard-to-get 'Demo 1984' cassette-tape.
Despite swarm of Saurons featured at the Metal-Archives, our heavy metal Ring Lord of the hour, herewith, is the ridiculously innocuous - but tremendously auspicious - Norrköping specimen, which haphazardly recorded and tossed a 1984 demo cassette, whilst just a kid not even aged (that) of reason, only for both media and band to, how shall I put it? Vanish!
Such, fellow collaborators, is a shame, considering Sauron's seventeen minutes of highly genial and melodic, NWOBHM-calibrated winsomeness - of note, vocally - distributed amongst four proficiently seizing tracks. The plump, old school production places Åsa Helander's tremulously pre-emptive Mandy Martillo-affecting pipes above the demo's spartan mixing, which, repentantly, accords equal emphasis to bass and guitars (even though, in fairness, drums suffer considerably from such finagling). Sauron's twin agile ax slingers proffer a textbook gallimaufry of qualitative European standards, whilst the bass shimmies this way and that, boldly, while oft leading the fray. A good example entails the bass line to brief fly-by-night-er "A Lover In Black"...(Foreigner rang, then hung up whence realized it'd no call!)
Following a fistful of energetic hi-hats, Sauron's motor kicks in for good, bound towards overdrive once Sauron's sylphlike and elusive songstress descends from above, imparting her shaky, (also) Pat Benatar-ish, vocal acrobatics. Still, now, in regards to said opener, dig the post-solo, bass dominant "after-bridge" session whence it reverts back to fulminating form.
The flashier and faster "On My Way to Heaven" oozes a relative Baltic feel, with its gelid chromatiks and stark battery; the hook-laden, snagging guitars, alongside segueing post-solo change-up, impart such, as well. Overall, top highlight consists of third entry, "Send It Back"...eh, your love?! Assuredly! The verses are "guimauve" i.e. saccharine to a fault. As valid redemption trump card, the fast-paced Scanner/Helloween/Warlock disposed riff-ery hypertrophy, at this fork in the road, sounds way ahead of its time. To puss n' boot, this was recorded thirty-six freaking years ago! (Incidentally, an age which corresponds to Guinness World Record for longest-living cat.) "Stormchild", as hip, kinetic, velocity-charged closer, fulfills its mission, to say no more...Screw it, as both celestially ripping bridge and lead entail further memorable "entry points"!
By all means, any NWOBHM, rock n' roll and/or woman helm'd outfit (not sartorial type) - particularly, Satan's Hallow/Midnight Dice fan - has a play-date with Ms. Helander and her gang's one-off quarter hour of fame.
Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
