Analysis of Demon song in Context to Hearing Voices

Don´t break the Circle


Don´t break the circle
Don´t break the circle
Concentrate!
I´m your contact link across the great divide
Many voices in my ear
Hold on I think there´s something coming through
From the other side.
It´s for all those who believe
The chain is stronger if the lifeline is unbroken
So beware the presence of The Unexpected Guest
Don´t break the circle
Don´t break the circle
Unexplained
Many things we thought were lost may come to light
On a higher plain in the spirit world
Where only a few of us possess the second sight
Now the messenger awaits
The chain is stronger if the lifeline is unbroken
So beware the presence of The Unexpected Guest
Don´t break the circle
Don´t break the circle.
The circle must keep going on and on
But wait
Is there one amongst us here who believes?
A stranger to the sign
Take care, for all the things you fear
May be revealed
Within the forces of the night
The chain is stronger if the lifeline is unbroken
So beware the presence of The Unexpected Guest
Don´t break the circle
Don´t break the circle
Don´t break the circle
Don´t break the circle
The circle must keep going on and on
The circle must keep going on and on

By Demon, from the album The Unexpected Guest

In the early 80’s in the UK, there was a creation of a certain type of heavy metal - influenced by punk, with much faster and heavier sounds than previous heavy metal bands - called NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal). The 80’s were a time of social division, conflict, and inner and outer struggles, with good becoming evil, and evil becoming, or being seen as good, and some of the songs of this musical genre reflect this. Some of these NWOBHM bands, like Demon, and Samson, were very unique and ahead of their time, as they paved the way for the more experimental, and hard-core metal bands, of the 90’s and the present time.

The Unexpected Guest, by Demon, is in my opinion one of the greatest rock albums for its time, and in some ways very unique. This song, Don’t break the Circle, in particular, is a very good simple analogy for hearing voices, as it draws upon a spiritualist perspective and understanding, but which can be decoded as to its social, material, and human meanings.

First of all the song says concentrate. I very much have to concentrate to hear my voices, and which is like tuning in to a radio station, and a focusing out and in. I am your contact link across the great divide, for me means a spiritual, another material world, or place, but it also means things like class and gender divisions in society. The line the unexpected guest, for me refers to intrusive voices, and which can be both positive or negative, although for me they are overall very positive. The voices themselves are the messenger.

A stranger to the sign, means those in society incapable of a much higher semiotic awareness and understanding socially and politically. The circle itself is our social connections with each other creatively, emotionally, intellectually, and in terms of the creative imagination. The circle must keep going on and on, means that we must continue, our social connections and interactions with one another.

As music speaks louder than words, I urge you all to buy or download this album, and which is in some ways a musical masterpiece.