{"id":20358,"date":"2012-06-05T17:41:39","date_gmt":"2012-06-05T22:41:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=20358"},"modified":"2013-02-05T16:09:52","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T21:09:52","slug":"deathwish-demon-preacher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/deathwish-demon-preacher\/","title":{"rendered":"Deathwish | Demon Preacher<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines<\/span>
\nStaff Writer —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"Emerging at the tail end of the NWOBHM scene, Brighton-based band Deathwish, along with bands like Onslaught and Xentrix, was part of the UK\u2019s answer to the emerging Bay Area thrash scene in the US. With their high-speed riffing, heavy rhythms, hardcore influences and sinister lyrical themes, Deathwish was a band that stood out from the pack and should have seen some real success, but for whatever reason they never really broke big.<\/p>\n

1988\u2019s Demon Preacher<\/em> was the band\u2019s second (and final) album, and it still holds up as a classic of UK thrash metal. It\u2019s a brief affair, with just nine songs, and two of those the instrumental opener and closer, and one cover song, but it packs more than an album\u2019s worth of frenetic speed and dark energy. After the heavy, doomy introductory \u201cDeath Procession\u201d gives way, the title track virtually explodes into action with David Brunt\u2019s neck-breaking guitar riffs and Jon Van Doorn\u2019s unique vocal style, which went from a hardcore\/punk-like bark to a high-pitched wail. \u201cCarrion\u201d and \u201cVisions of Insanity\u201d continued the high speed assault, but there was also a major dose of almost doom-like heaviness to the songs. That was especially evident on the band\u2019s cover of the Black Sabbath staple \u201cSymptom of the Universe,\u201d which is one of the best versions of that song you\u2019ll ever hope to hear. On the back half of the album, \u201cWall of Lies\u201d and \u201cFatal Attraction\u201d are pure thrashers with a strong UK punk vibe (think Discharge), while \u201cPrey to the Lord\u201d is a much slower, much heavier, and much darker song. Closing instrumental \u201cPast Life\u201d is as somber as it is surprisingly beautiful, and stands in stark contrast to the rest of Demon Preacher\u2019s sinister themes.<\/p>\n

Divebomb\u2019s 2012 reissue of Demon Preacher<\/em> puts this long out of print classic back into circulation. It doesn\u2019t feature any bonus material, but all of the songs have been digitally remastered by Jamie King at Basement Studios, which is reason enough to upgrade if you\u2019re one of the lucky few who already own a copy. Additionally, the liner notes have been expanded to include a band interview and vintage photos and reviews. It\u2019s a very well put together reissue all around.<\/p>\n

Still unfairly overlooked, Demon Preacher<\/em> remains an essential thrash metal album, and not just by UK standards. Whether your tastes run to the U.S. bands like Testament, Exodus and Overkill or German bands like Kreator and Destruction, Deathwish is a band you do not want to miss out on, especially now that a high quality reissue of Demon Preacher<\/em> is available. Hopefully we\u2019ll see a decent reissue of At the Edge of Damnation<\/em> one day soon.<\/p>\n

Genre: Thrash Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nJon Van Doorn (v)
\nDavid Brunt (g)
\nStuart Ranger (b)
\nBrad Sims (d)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tDeath Procession
\n2.\tDemon Preacher
\n3.\tCarrion
\n4.\tVisions of Insanity
\n5.\tSymptom of the Universe
\n6.\tWall of Lies
\n7.\tPrey to the Lord
\n8.\tFatal Attraction
\n9.\tPast Life<\/p>\n

Label: Divebomb Records<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines Staff Writer — Emerging at the tail end of the NWOBHM scene, Brighton-based band Deathwish, along with bands like Onslaught and Xentrix, was part of the UK\u2019s answer to the emerging Bay […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6772],"tags":[923,1101],"class_list":{"0":"post-20358","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012","7":"tag-divebomb-records","8":"tag-thrash-metal"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20358\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}