Based in Austin, Texas, and Mexico City, heavy rocking three-piece Demons My Friends make their full-length debut on Sept. 8 through Gravitoyd Heavy Music with Demons Seem to Gather. The band have been trickling out singles leading up to the release for nearly a year, and as a singe “Inner Slay” (premiering below) follows behind “Ghosts of You,” “Bring the Night,” the closer “We Are the Resistance” and the hooky side B leadoff “Make Them Pay,” so it’s probably safe to say they’re looking to grab attention of an underground listenership, otherwise maybe five singles (so far) from your first record probably isn’t the way you’re going to go.

Taking some cues in atmosphere on “We Are the Resistance,” the crunch of “Fire Mountain” and in the ’90s creep of guitar in verse of “Your Bones” prior from Alice in Chains, the trio bring ideas together from modern emotive doom à la Pallbearer on “Inner Slay,” a broad vocal hook assuring that the vocal stands up to the riffing on display throughout, opener “The Tower Falls” having started out on solid ground rhythm-wise but found room in the mix for an Elephant Tree-style harmony in opener “The Tower Falls” before the start-stop angularity of “Bring the Night” — the chorus delivering the album’s title line — hinting at the metallic underpinning of the project while also sounding more derived from ’00s era punk and post-hardcore. Thus it is that Demons My Friends — guitarist/vocalist Pablo Anton, bassist/vocalist Lu Salinas, drummer Tarro Martinez — stave off the threat of doing just one thing, and instead lay out a creative reach that one expects they’ll continue to refine as they move forward.

While the eight-song/36-minute offering is varied in its approach, the band are consistent in tone and their willingness to veer toward more doomed ends, “Inner Slay” serving as a ready example leading into “Ghosts of You,” which caps side A and pushes further along similar lines, with a central progression to its back half that touches almost on commercial hard rock without losing its foundation in heavy riffing. The production of Duel‘s Jeff Henson assures that fullness of sound and gives the melodic complexity of some of the arrangements — looking at you, chorus-over-solo in “Fire Mountain” — a dimensionality it would otherwise run the risk of lacking, but while Demons My Friends is a new exploration and Demons Seem to Gather is a debut album from a band who as the narrative tells us (blessings and peace upon it) jammed before they were really together, the experience of the players involved assures they’re not flailing in the end product.

Instead, songwriting is at the core of Demons My Friends‘ approach, and whatever original riff-blocks these pieces were carved from, they have been shaped with care and thought, which is something that even the lines topping the apex of “We Are the Resistance” bear out, the band purposefully meeting the largesse of that moment head-on, even as they’re still unfolding it. The proverbial encouraging beginning? Yeah, pretty much. The kind of record you might see five singles released from. It’ll be interesting to hear as Demons My Friends plunge further into the places between rock and doom, the classic and modern and in-between. But one of Demons Seem to Gather‘s strengths is that it knows the field is wide open and it stakes a number of stylistic claims. Maybe they’re settling in for a longer-term evolution, thinking ahead an album, two albums, three. Some bands do that, and if Demons My Friends go that route and build on this backdrop, they’re starting out working from a high standard of craft.

PR wire info follows the player below, on which “Inner Slay” premieres. Please enjoy:

Demons My Friends is an unlikely collaboration between members of Mexican alt-metal band QBO and Washington, DC desert rockers Fellowcraft. The stoner/doom metal trio — Lu Salinas (bass/vocals), Tarro Martinez (drums), Pablo Anton (guitar/vocals)—embarked on their creative endeavor via an impromptu recording session at the SXSW music festival in Austin, TX in 2022 and have consummated the relationship with an upcoming full-length titled Demons Seem to Gather.

Demons Seem to Gather was recorded, mixed and produced by Jeff Henson at Red Nova Ranch, Austin, TX. It was mastered by Alberto de Icaza. It’s set for release on September 8 on vinyl, CD and digitally via Gravitoyd Heavy Music. In the meantime you can stream the band’s singles on all digital platforms

Tracklisting:
01. The Tower Falls
02. Bring The Night
03. Inner Slay
04. Ghosts of You
05. Make Them Pay
06. Fire Mountain
07. Your Bones
08. We Are The Resistance

Shows coming up for Demons My Friends:
October 20th at Valhalla (Austin TX)
October 21st at Black Magic Social Club (Houston TX)

Demons My Friends is:
Pablo Anton – guitar/vox
Lu Salinas – Bass/vox
Tarro – Drums

Demons My Friends on Facebook

Demons My Friends on Instagram

Demons My Friends on Bandcamp

Demons My Friends Linktr.ee

Gravitoyd Heavy Music on Facebook

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Tags: Austin, Demons My Friends, Demons My Friends Demons Seem to Gather, Demons Seem to Gather, Gravitoyd Heavy Music, Mexico, Mexico City, Texas

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