![\"\"](\"http:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/a3530539328_10.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nHailing from Austin, Texas and Mexico City, Demons My Friends arrive on the scene with an eight song full length debut album that has been demanding repeated plays. The band describes their sound as stoner\/ doom, but the stoner side comes out much more to my ears because I think of super slow and long songs when I think of doom. First song I heard by the band this summer reminded me of an old band from the California desert, but I will get to that in a bit. As metal debuts go, this is one of the best you will hear this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some fuzz introduces us to the powerful \u2018The Tower Falls\u2019 and finds the band combining a hard groove with a simple but effective vocal hook at the end of the chorus. Musically, this one isn\u2019t too far away from Pepper-era Corrosion of Conformity, and, while the song stretches out over 5 minutes, it doesn\u2019t feel that long. \u2018Bring the Night\u2019 serves as a de-facto title track as it is drawn from the lyrics here. The mellower verses give way to ripping guitars that slice through the mix in the chorus. Increasing the tempo at the guitar solo creates a great sense of dynamics, especially as the song transitions back into its original groove for the outro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Inner Slay\u2019 begins with the bass and some guitar deep in the mix. This is one spot where I can see the doom influence in the band as they don\u2019t rush things too quickly. The rhythm really drives this song with the clean lead vocals and harmonies on the chorus providing us a look back in time a bit when this was more representative of the metal genre, without sounding stale or dated. The band provide lots of opportunities to headbang and throw your fist in the air. \u2018Ghosts of You\u2019 is the song I referred to in my introduction which has a guitar tone that reminds me of \u2018Sky Valley\u2019 era Kyuss. The guitar riffs wrap around the bass and drums to create a hypnotic groove with this song remaining my favorite on the album so far. The layered vocals in the chorus provide it with a commercial angle but balance it with some aggro vocals there as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n