THE SELF-PROCLAIMED KING OF SIN
A CONVERSATION WITH DAEMON GREY
When asked how he would describe his music to those who donโt know it, Daemon Grey says โdevil sex rockโ โ and honestly, if Satan isnโt currently headbanging and/or having an orgy to Greyโs first single โKing of Sinโ, I would be shocked.
Grey began cultivating his flair for โdevil sex rockโ in childhood, when his older sisterโs even older rock and roll boyfriend introduced him to heavy metal. โIโm pretty grateful for thisโ, he admits, โwhen I was only ten I had some 28-year-old dude hand me three death metal recordsโฆI got obsessed. Basically the story goesโฆ my brother locked me in a room and was like youโre gonna listen to Slayer and youโre gonna like it. So, I instantly fell in love with itโ. This, however, was not the first sign of Greyโs musical superpowers; it was clear he was destined for a life of sex, devil worship, and rock and roll as soon as he began โhead-banging in the wombโ. This eerie rock โnโ roll spirit that possessed him became more potent as his metal fever grew: โUntil I was like 13, I used to head bang to get to sleep, just bang my head against my mattressโ, Grey confesses somewhat proudly. Grey formed his first band in high school, describing it as a โPantera/Hatebreed influenceโ, and though they played dive bars across southern Ontario, giving Grey his first taste of live performing, it didnโt work out. He hopped between metal bands throughout the remainder of high school and through university, but nothing stuck. โBands are toughโ, Grey explains, โpeople got pregnant, different things happenedโฆeventually I decided to just do it myselfโ.
But doing it yourself is hard. Daemon, luckily, doesnโt have to, having gotten signed with big-shot producer Gavin Brown (Metric, Three Days Grace, Billy Talent,) early in the game. โI got fed up with all the fans and half-assed productionโ, Daemon gripes, saying he โneeded to basically go big or go homeโ โ and instead of going home, he went to see Gavin Brown. He sang two songs for Brown, both of which are coming out soon: โStoned and Aloneโ and โI Donโt Wanna Grow Upโ.ย โI wrote [โI Donโt Wanna Grow Upโ] when I was high on mushrooms and I told [Brown] about it and sang it to himโ, Grey recounts, and he has been with Brown ever since.
Of course, to complete his newfound rocker persona he had to change his name to something more rock and roll. He chose โDaemon Greyโ originally for the sharp sound โ โI liked the flow of itโฆtwo hits, two syllablesโ โ but he ended up connecting to it more deeply than he expected. โIt turns out the way that I spell โDaemonโ also has to do with this spirit in philosophical law of Thelema which was developed by Aleister Crowley, a crazy magician black sorcerer dude, so it all actually worked out pretty wellโ, Grey explains. โI got that symbol tattooed on my chest before I even picked the name, so once I realized that both things coincided I was like โfuck it, thatโs my nameโโ.
Now Grey has perfected his style, borrowing aesthetic elements from horror and glam rock and acoustic elements from death metal to create riotous, erotic music. His music tends to fuse sex and horror โ think lyrics such as โblack throne Iโve taken/your sins awakeโ and โget down on your knees and pray to meโ โ and Grey openly calls horror an โaphrodisiacโ. Grey maintains that โhorror is an erotic thing, there is a sexual component to itโฆanything connected to death and gore and all those really earthy components has a really intimate sexual piece to itโ. His latest single, โWhiskey Devil Girlโ is an ode to โgirls who have an edge and arenโt afraid to show it, who know how to party and also kind of on the down low praise the devilโ โ basically the definition of a devil sex rock love song. Originally a song called โBottle Whoreโ mocking โannoying girls in the club who will do anything for a sip of vodkaโ, Grey changed it when Brown reminded him that those so-called โbottle whoresโ are his fans, and Grey instead decided to write about โsome shit that I really likeโ.
Turns out that the โshit [he] really like[s]โ is the presence of women in the heavy metal scene, as Grey aims to make music that is, โinclusive to women and not trying to be classic metal, super macho, and scaryโ. He insists that feminine energy is essential to rock and roll: โThereโs this macho thing that I think has kind of plagued heavy musicโฆbut if you look before all that at some of the biggest rock acts like Prince or Michael Jackson, it had more of that glam appeal, more of that edgy, sexual, feminine energy, and thatโs what made the music hugeโฆyou need women to want to party to that music so itโs a partyโ. Grey doesnโt feel the need to brand himself as a tough guy, and would classify his style as โgothy glam with a hint of metalโ, though he believes that, โthe music will speak for itselfโฆthe truth of the show and the brand is itโs more about being inclusive to women, guys, gay, straight, whatever, and having a fucking partyโ. Heโs pretty emphatic about women being a crucial element of the heavy metal scene, and he makes some good points: โIโve been going to metal shows my whole life and itโs not as much of a party if itโs just a bunch of weird dudes standing, jerking each other offโ, he quips.
Above all else, Daemon hopes his music makes people want to party. โIโve got [a new song] coming out called โI Like the Taste of Bloodโ thatโs basically an ode to horror, gore, and has got a sexy component to itโฆitโs about making metal and horror and gore and drugs and all those kinds of things not so serious, making them funโ.
Daemonโs playing an upcoming show at The Drake, date TBA, where heโll be playing most of his songs for the first time, and heโs intent on bringing โback the fun, the sexinessโ.
Artistย Links
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DAEMON GREY – DAEMONIC
