The video for OF LIMBO’s new release “California Demon” underlines how good this song is and works as a standalone promotional clip. Luke and Jake Davies have a predilection for compelling visual imagery that rivals their propensity for hard rock fire and thread it together in a music video that accentuates the single’s greatest strengths. It supplies the gritty and muscular song with moodily lit images tailored to the track’s lyrics without ever succumbing to pretentiousness along the way. OF LIMBO has already proven they know how to craft effective promotional videos; the clip for their recent single “Let’s Go” shared that song’s rollicking sense of abandon. “California Demon” gains a lot from its intense portrayal in music video form.
It helps, of course, to have a kickass song to promote. “California Demon” supplies plenty of evidence for why the Davies brothers and their music have made them a coveted opening act for bands such as Wolfmother, Blue Oyster Cult, Joyous Wolf, and Candlebox, to name a few. This is a track sure to blow the roof off any venue. It packs enormous firepower in studio form and they are more than able to raise its impact up several notches in a live setting.
They anchor the track around an earth-shaking rhythm section and aggressive guitars. The aggression, however, makes room for several sections where the duo pulls back on the reins and emphasizes atmospherics over bruising power. They show off their musical talents, as well, by varying the tempo during the track; the surprising slip from grinding riffage into a full-on six-string rampage after the song’s midway point ranks as one of the track’s unquestionable highlights.
Vocals are another strong suit. They unleash lung-bursting anguished howls during the chorus and transition back into almost whispered singing during the verses. It makes for an ear-grabbing pairing. There are instrumental breaks during the cut, invariably brief, but anyone hoping for long guitar hero solos will be disappointed. Mindless musical masturbation isn’t this band’s thing. They are a song-centric unit that far prefers focus over self-indulgent wanking off.
The lyrics won’t be confused with high flown poetry but, like the arrangement, serve the song. A reliance on repetition enhances the song’s mood and gives it an almost hypnotic effect. It’s never overdone, however. Each line of the lyric is as unforgiving and focused as the song’s musical elements and benefits from the fully committed vocals.
OF LIMBO continues raising the ante with each new single. “California Demon” shows us many things and one is how thoroughly American culture has seeped into the band’s musical fabric. You’d never guess these brothers are Australian natives. It also shows their increasing mastery of the hard rock idiom and how they are bringing something new to the style’s possibilities thanks to the undeniable personality powering each new recording. The song will no doubt be a staple of the band’s live set for years to come and you’ll understand why after a single listen. “California Demon” is a fire-breathing modern classic of Hard Rock, demonic bargain be damned.
Garth Thomas