Hard Rock Magazine was a French Hard Rock/Heavy Metal magazine in the mid-80's, written in French. Here's an interview translated to English for you.
DEMON EYES
LITTLE DEMONS WILL GROW UP...
Demon Eyes is one of the few French bands whose album is only available as an import. Being signed by the English label Ebony Records hasn't been very beneficial for the young Parisian group. This is all the more unfortunate because Demon Eyes possesses qualities just waiting to be exploited...
You may have seen them opening for Sortilège on December 14th at Balard. They are part of the new wave of hard rock and, despite their name, Demon Eyes sings in French. After recording their first album, Chaos, released in July 1984 on Ebony Records (an English label specializing in hard rock), they have undergone several personnel changes. The band has been stable for seven months: Pierre-Yves Roupin (guitar), Marc Prudhomme (drums). Philippe Masson (vocals). Thierry Masson (guitar) and Rémi Serpent glauque Berthel (bass) are the Demons. HARD-ROCK MAGAZINE visited their lair in Sannois.
HARD-ROCK: Are you preparing a second LP?
DEMON EYES: Yes, it will be very different from the first: only two "speed" tracks, the other seven will be more melodic, more sophisticated, and of course, in French. We're very attached to that; it's our language. Thierry composes the musical foundations and Pierre-Yves writes the lyrics, which are short, Stories, a bit like fairy tales. We hope to record it sometime in March, if we can break our contract with Ebony: we have more interesting offers.
HARD-ROCK: You've had problems with this label...
DEMON EYES: We were excluded from the mixing and cover design; from a distribution standpoint in France, nothing was done, our LP is only available as an import at exorbitant prices. Things are going better abroad: we even reached number 8 in the Japanese charts, in import.
HARD-ROCK: Do you give many concerts?
DEMON EYES: A few. But it's very difficult. Here, there's no infrastructure or serious organizations, except for BBO (Bobby Bruno Organisation): we're actually in contact with them, as well as three other hard rock bands, to get us booked without any problems. We're going to participate in two festivals: in Fontenay-sous-Bois, on May 8th, with Vulcain and Blasphème (there will even be Clash!) and in Bretigny-sur-Orge, on May 24th and 25th.
HARD-ROCK: What are your influences?
DEMON EYES: Judas Priest, Manowar, Dio. We don't like Metallica.
HARD-ROCK: You have good relationships with other groups
DEMON EYES: They often give us a hand: Manu, the road manager for Trust, takes care of the lighting. Bob, from Sortilège, plays drums on our first LP, and Armando, from H-Bomb, found us our current drummer and takes care of our sound system.
Demon Eyes, while not performing live much, tries to stay in touch with the kids by inviting them to their rehearsals every Saturday. They also host a show on Radio Espace (St Prix) every Wednesday afternoon. Demon Eyes Fan Club: 14, rue de la République, 95110 Sannois.
/ Georges AMANN