SPRITIUAL BEGGARS
“Demons”

Music Style: Classic Rock

Tracklisting: 1. Inner Strength (Intro) 1:19 - 2. Throwing Your Life Away 3:32 - 3. Salt In Your Wounds 3:19 - 4. One Man Army 3:57 - 5. Through The Halls 5:08 - 6. Treading Water 3:33 - 7. Dying Every Day 5:45 - 8. Born To Die 4:34 - 9. Born To Die (Reprise) 1:21 - 10. In My Blood 4:13 - 11. Elusive 3:33 - 12. Sleeping With One Eye Open 3:44 - 13. No One Heard 5:02

Line-Up:
Michael Amott - Guitars
JB - Vocals
Ludwig Witt – Drums
Sharlee D'Angelo - Bass
Per Wiberg - Keyboards

Info:
Irrespective of trends over the last thirty years, whenever a new style came into being or when something was touted as being the future of Rock n’ Roll – classic rock music survived and thus stood the test of time. Names like Mountain, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Ronnie James Dio are all synonymous with the term “timeless”. Joining this tradition are Spiritual Beggars, one of the hottest acts to evolve in recent years. Their latest album “Demons” changes past perceptions and approaches to the genre and brings them into the present.

“The funny thing is, whatever we’re doing always ends up becoming a typical Spiritual Beggars song” explains guitarist, founding member and main composer Michael Amott. “We can be playing a super heavy Black Sabbath riff or maybe experiment with a soft boss nova rhythm and it always sounds like us! This is probably our biggest advantage. Our sound is very much our own”. That sound covers 13 new tracks on “Demons” and is sure to satisfy their hardcore fan base. Every arrangement sounds alive. Each and every note has been recorded with real passion. “Demons” is a home-grown rock record spawning riff after riff, song after song. “We don’t write our songs on the computer, we write by jamming together in the rehearsal room. We like to really work on the material and let it grow until we feel it’s ready to record in the studio“, says Amott revealing the secret behind the dynamic of the new album. “Basically this was always my aim with each album, to create the ultimate, super heavy, melodic, 70’s style, rock album”. In comparison to earlier works, the band sounds more mature and consistent this time around. “I think we had already become more melodic and had improved musically on the previous album ‘On Fire‘. We grew a lot as composers and arrangers around that time. Now we have a much clearer idea of exactly how we want the music to sound”.

Amott’s ambitions have once again become a reality with “Demons“. Amott himself was an extremely capable composer before starting his dream band. To develop his dream, he carefully created a tight unit of compatible musicians that now consist of drummer Ludwig Witt, keyboardist Per Wiberg (Opeth), vocalist JB (Grand Magus) and bassist Sharlee D´Angelo (Arch Enemy). The band has since become a devoted crew whose newest recruits have given the band’s backbone of Amott, Witt and Wiberg a new kick start. “I love JB’s voice and his entire attitude towards music”, Amott smiles. “He’s an interesting guy and I’m proud to call him my friend. He gave the Spiritual Beggars new life when we needed it most. His influence on our music is just immense”. With similar praise the guitarist speaks of bassist D’Angelo, too. “Sharlee is definitely a big improvement. He’s got a great bass sound and he brings a good feeling into the band. He also mixes our drinks!” From listening to Amott’s enthusiasm for his band, one can conclude that these guys are all very talented but together their shared vision creates something very special. Proof of which can be heard on “Demons”, as the album rocks like hell!

The band started back in 1992 and has consistently toured and recorded ever since. It was with “Ad Astra” (1999) however that they gained international acclaim with the music press. “Metal Hammer” and “Rock Hard” both voted “Ad Astra” as their album of the month. This was repeated in 2002 for the band’s follow up album “On Fire” (2002), which also marked the debut of vocalist JB. “Demons” however is not just the continuation of these great albums but a new landmark in the history of Spiritual Beggars. Michael Amott sums it up by saying “There’s just no substitute for a killer riff!“ Indeed!

Last Update: Sunday, 19. June 2005
created in September 2002 © by Sonny