Demoniac
Demoniac |
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Biography
Demoniac was a heavy metal band from New Zealand formed in Auckland in 1993 by singer and bass player Lindsay Dawson and guitarist Sam Totman. The group began playing black metal in the vein of Darkthrone 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 and Satanic and demonic imagery and lyrics. 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 The 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" . Following this release 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 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 a guest in the album Inhuman Rampage 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)
Discography
Demos
- Rehearsal '93, 1993
- The Birth of Diabolic Blood, 1994
Singles
- Moonblood, 1994
EPs
- Demons Of The Night, 1999
Full-lengths
- Prepare For War, 1994
- Stormblade, 1996
- The Fire And The Wind, 1999