MacD on Music: Demons & Sharks

We’re officially two thirds through summer, and, just like the past few years, it’s been a season of great gigs. So far, we’ve had the long-awaited EP launch from TRAMP (who’s debut EP ‘Bimbofication’ is available now in Cool Discs), we bid farewell to Parker (same night as the launch) and we’ve had Rocks For and Against Pride and Racism, respectively.

Of course, being the city of phenomenal music that we are, there’s plenty more to come. August 15th sees some of the finest up and coming bands playing the Summer Sessions Showcase in the Nerve Centre, featuring the Backroom Bandits, Sensory Overload, Growing Pains, Sunset Theory and Sick Savannah. Nine days before that, though, Sandino’s will be playing host to Southern California’s Night Demon, with support from Devilsome and, in their first ever gig, Falchion. I recently caught up with Night Demon frontman Jarvis Letherby ahead of the gig to talk about the group and their story so far:

“The band’s been around since 2011 but we didn’t start touring until 2014. We’ve played almost a thousand shows. We’ve just been a full time heavy metal band from California and we’re celebrating the tenth anniversary of our first album ‘Curse of the Dammed’ and that’s why we’re coming to tour. We’re playing that album in full.”

Talking about how the band came together: “It was just our love of old school heavy metal. In Southern California, everybody was into punk. We were too, but we were more metal heads and there weren’t a lot of people out there doing that, so out of necessity it was the three of us.”

Speaking of their debut album: “We made an EP first, and that was really our only goal as a band. We actually didn’t think anybody would care about what we were doing. We never really wanted to make a full-length album, but once we started playing gigs and getting calls to come overseas we realised something good was happening, so we decided to make an album. It’s like, you’ve got a lot of time to make your first album. We were playing a lot of the songs live before the album came out because we needed songs to play gigs.

“The album is kind of a mishmash of heavy metal stylings. It’s really classic styles, but our first EP is really more raw and the album hits some other territories. It’s got a lot of diversity to it. When it came out it did very well in the press and with the fans, and that’s the reason we’re here today.”

“We just played in St. John’s in Newfoundland for the first show of the tour and it went very well. People still talk about that album a lot and we still like it, which is good. There are some songs we haven’t played in a long time, so it’s cool to be able to dust those off.”

Giving his thoughts on the current metal scene: “It’s stronger than ever, I think. I guess rock in general was bigger in the ‘80s and ‘90s, but metal, as a subgenre, has hit it’s peak. I mean, hopefully it hasn’t, but it’s more popular than it’s ever been.”

I asked about any newer metal bands worth checking out: “Us [laughing]. Gamma Bomb. They’ve been around for twenty years now, but they’re an Irish band that are amazing.”

Next, I asked him if the group has had much recognition from their big names: “We have. Fortunately, we’ve been able to go out and tour with some of our heroes, like Queensrÿche and Accept and Raven and bands like that. It’s been awesome, when you meet your heroes and then you work with them. It’s been good. To hear that people that you admire know who you are, it’s something you never think would happen until it does.”

And that’s it from Jarvis. Night Demon will be playing Sandino’s on August 6th. Tickets are £10 plus booking fee and doors are at 7.15.

Now, onto other business. This past Friday saw the release of the new single ‘Sharks’ from Grim17 and Abby Oliveria.

The official description of the song says: “Seeing a shark up close is exhilarating-a true roller coaster of emotions, from awe to fear, as the creature butts against and peers through the safety of the cage. But in real life, there’s no cage to protect us. Not from the sharks Grim17 and Abby Oliveira sing about.”

“On July 25, when ‘Sharks’ [was] released, those dangers will still be out there; circling, hunting, waiting. Take the plunge if you dare.”

READ MORE: MacD on Music

‘Sharks’ is out now on all good streaming platforms.

Finally, time for the socials. Grim17 can be found on Instagram @grim17again, Abby Oliveira @abbyoliveirawriter and Night Demon @nightdemonmetal