“Demon Fire” by AC/DC

“Demon Fire” has been described with adjectives such as “hellish” by some prominent music publications. And whereas it definitely possesses a dark undertone, outside of numerous references to underworld entities it can be a bit challenging to ascertain exactly what’s going on. However. it is arguable that the singer is depicting himself as some type of stalker. For instance, in the first verse he implies that he is partaking of a ‘life of crime’. And this is due to him not only having a natural disposition towards such a lifestyle but also being “raised by a jackal”, seemingly alluding to his animality. 

Then in the second verse, it is apparent that the intended victim of his evil intentions is a “girl”, i.e. female. Indeed he is warning her to look out for his eventual manifestation.  And overall, the title of the song points to the idea that he can be quite evil and destructive. So again it would appear that, if nothing else, on this particular track AC/DC are embracing a darker nature.

This track is featured on AC/DC’s first post-Malcolm Young album, Power Up. However, the late guitarist still makes his presence felt. For instance, he served as one of the co-writers of “Demon Fire”. And his little bro, Angus Young, is its other author.

Record labels Sony Music Australia and Columbia released this track with the rest of Power Up on 13 November 2020.  However, the band dropped a video teaser of this song a couple of weeks prior, on 30 October.

And the producer who worked on the entirety of Power Up is Brendan O’Brien.