Of Limbo welcome you to Hollywood hell on their gritty and groovy new single and video California Demon — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Continuing down the no-holds-barred trail they blazed with their previous pedal-to-the-metal single Let’s Go, hard-rocking brothers Luke and Jake Davies return with the devilishly clever California Demon, a track that belongs on Beelzebub’s jukebox next to Alice In Chains, Three Days Grace and Soundgarden. Fuelled by a chugging low-neck guitar riff, thumping subterranean drums, smoky vocals and a chorus sharper than Satan’s pitchfork, the track goes beneath the glitz and glamour to expose the dark underbelly of the Hollywood dream:
“We gave you what you want
What others would kill for
Now this is what you are
Walk of fame
Walk the plank
Five pointed star
Now you’ve signed on the line
Your soul is ours…
Hit your mark of the beast
Shine morning star
California demon
California dreamin’
Reborn a demon.”
“The song explores the concept of selling your soul for fame and fortune, but in a literal sense,” says Luke Davies of the track, which was produced by Mike Pepe, and mixed and mastered by Grammy winner Jett Galindo. “As if the devil was real and young, innocent and corruptible people are actually coming to Hollywood and selling their soul to become a star.
“There’s a large section of the population, like our conspiracy theory-loving uncle, who believes this to be 100% fact/reality. He sends us videos of stars in interviews, implying they sold their souls, or the latest Grammy performances, etc. from Sam Smith or mumble rappers dressed up as Satan. He doesn’t believe this is just pageantry. He thinks it’s all some kind of televised satanic ritual. It’s a concept we always felt was perfect for a rock song: Innocent girl comes to Hollywood with wide eyes and high hopes, only to find she has to sacrifice a lot more than she bargained for… HER SOUL!”
The concept is stylishly brought to life in the cinematic video directed by Tony Vercelli, filmed at Baur Films in Long Beach and Nuvisions Studios in Santa Ana, and produced by Todd Grilli of 4th Street Productions. And yes, Luke really is playing a flaming guitar, Jake confirms. “We had to douse Luke in flame-retardant spray and pray to sweet baby Jesus that he didn’t get third degree burns. It was definitely super-sketchy at times! On a few takes I had to run in with a wet blanket to extinguish the flames.”
It’ll take more than a wet blanket to put out Of Limbo’s rock ’n’ roll fire, which first sparked when the brothers were growing up in Melbourne. “I first put a guitar in Luke’s hands when he was 10,” Jake recalls. “I taught him the nylon string acoustic intro to Unforgiven by Metallica, from there he was hooked!”
The brothers were drawn to the U.S. when Luke was accepted to the Berklee School of Music in Boston. Jake relocated to Long Beach, started playing in bands, and invited Luke out to California. “Every night turned into us partying and writing music,” Jake says. “We couldn’t record it on our phones fast enough — It was just pouring out of us! We knew Luke needed to drop out of Berklee and move in with me permanently in Long Beach to do this together.”
One of those party-filled nights inspired the band name. “One night after heavy drinking at the bar, Luke was struggling,” Jake says. “I asked him, ‘how you doing over there, Luke’? He said. ‘I don’t know man… I’m a little left of limbo,’ and it jumped out at us as a band name. Oof Limbo has a mystery to it… It’s a bit weird and we definitely have to say the name twice when people ask. But hey — what’s Pearl Jam? Eventually the name just becomes the band identity of the band — not the definition of the words.”
And it matches their refreshingly unique hard-rock sound, that doesn’t just follow current trends. “We absolutely strive to not repeat ourselves and create as many different colours as possible. As far as influences — Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Rage Against The Machine are all at the top. As far as how diverse the sound is, Faith No More is a band who I really respect for their ability to do this too.”
Of Limbo have toured with Wolfmother, Hinder, Candlebox, Buckcherry and Joyous Wolf, among others. “Performance-wise, for us, it’s always been about making a rock show a party again” says Jake. “I can’t tell you how many shows I’ve been to where the people just stand there like zombies that have been herded into a room to just stare at the meat on stage and robotically clap when a song ends.
“You know the craziest thing about it? All it takes is like two people at the front to start losing themselves, dancing and having a good time to break people out of this weird self-conscious trance. It’s as if it sweeps across the rest of the crowd like an electrical current shocking them all back to life and everyone has so much more fun after that. If you want a passive, one-sided entertainment experience, go to a movie.”
But first, watch the video for California Demon above, check out the track on your preferred streamer HERE, sample more music from Of Limbo below, and join the party on their website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok.
