From late-night isolation to global catharsis, “When Your Demons Come” hits hard.

From the quiet hours of a Bulgarian home studio comes a metal album, "When Your Demons Come," that pulls no punches.

Ivan Shiskov has released “When Your Demons Come” under his project name “Brainmaze”. It is a heavy metal album, written over a decade of late-night sessions, emotional exploration, and creative persistence. At the core of this album is a long-standing personal journey put in the form of music. Each song on this album was born from a deep connection between Ivan with his bass guitar. It was the very first tool through which he composed the ideas, which later became the full songs.

The album talks about themes like isolation, internal struggle, and the emotional chaos that emerges when one is stripped of pretense. There is a clear thread through each song. It is about confronting the shadows we carry within. The intensity of the instruments in the album matches this emotional depth. The compositions of Ivan are really aggressive because the subject matter demands it. It is not just for the sake of the genre.

“It is metal that feels alive rather than being just for decoration.”

The album builds an atmosphere that feels both urgent and reflective at once, even from the first song. One of the unique aspects is the international collaboration on the album. Ivan has handled the entire concept, songwriting, lyrics, visual design, and direction. The album was brought to life by a carefully curated team of musicians across the world. The vocals are by Rob Davis, and the guitar work is by Ramon Martinez. German Maldonado has added layers of aggression, and Carrion Troya and David Mendez have handled percussion. This gives the album an impressive dynamic range.

“When Your Demons Come” has a polished yet raw sound. The album was edited and mixed by Ilarion Ivanenko and mastered by Colin Davis. They have respected the emotional core of the record while also ensuring every instrument felt precise. The music of this album never feels overdone. Despite all the digital file exchanges during international production, the emotional punch is never lost.

The lyrics of the songs explore emotional states like fear, envy, uncertainty, and anger. There are no abstract emotions. Ivan writes about them like someone who has been through them and learned from them. There is a particularly heavy focus on the moments when life feels off track. The moments when you are left alone with your own mind, questioning everything. But rather than leaving the listener in a bleak headspace, the album feels cathartic. It is like an exorcism of emotion through sound.

Every song in this album feels like a chapter in this journey. The contributions of each musician help shape distinct moments within the album. The guitar solos on songs like “Despair”, “Uncertainty”, and “Envy” push emotional expression through melody. The rhythmic backbone maintains a tight grip on the pacing of the album.

Both visually and thematically, the album also benefits from the photography and design of Ivan. It is clear that “When Your Demons Come” is not just a music project. It is a multi-disciplinary artwork. It reflects a journey of Ivan, enhanced by others who understood and respected that vision.

Ivan says he created most of this during late-night hours, after full days of work. That shows in his music. There is a tiredness in some of the melodies. But not in a negative sense. It is the kind of tiredness that comes with fighting your own mind and trying to turn that into something beautiful. And he has succeeded in that.

“When Your Demons Come” does not rush you through pain or pretend everything is okay. Instead, it meets you in that place and gives you sound to make sense of it. And that, in itself, is something worth hearing.