Demon Hunter
DEMON HUNTER
STORM THE GATES OF HELL
Being HM Magazine’s requisite Demon Hunter album reviewer, I’m always stoked when the band releases a new album. That same excitement welled up in me just before spinning their recent offering, Storm The Gates Of Hell.
Surprisingly, this is the first Demon Hunter album that wasn’t immediate for me. You know, the ones that grab you from the beginning, and you just know that the entire disc is going to be killer. All that being said, this is still a solid fourth outing. Opening with the fast, furious, and frantic title track, drummer Yogi displays his speedy chops throughout. The breakdown at the end is a definite standout, reminiscent of Lamb Of God. Lead single “Fading Away” features keyboards, something that is becoming very common in today’s rock and heavy metal. Ryan Clark’s melodic vocals shine here. Guitarists Don Clark and Ethan Luck exhibit their start-stop technicality on “A Thread Of Light,” and Jon Dunn (bass) holds down the bottom end the way it should be. The standout for me is “Sixteen.” Against a backdrop of rich orchestration, the song unfolds and builds into an astonishing pre-chorus featuring former Living Sacrifice vocalist Bruce Fitzhugh. And I’ve got to say, it sure is nice to hear his distinct scream again.
Once more produced by Aaron Sprinkle (Anberlin, The Almost) and mixed by Machine (Lamb Of God, Clutch), the production is some of the cleanest and slickest you’ll find anywhere in the metal realm. Lyrically, Clark uses his usual metaphors to convey the band’s message. “Thorns” addresses cutting, a very real and growing concern among today’s society. “Carry Me Down” is a plea to family and friends not to grieve for a deceased loved one whose salvation is secure, while “I Am You” brings the band and their fans together in our plight against the things of this world.
Storm The Gates Of Hell? To that I say, “Go get ‘em!”
[SOLID STATE RECORDS] CHAD OLSON
This album review was originally published in the January/February Issue (#129) of HM Magazine. I promised to post it as soon as possible, but I'm a slacker. Here it is (finally) now. Order the Print Version to read tons more reviews. You can order the Print Version of this issue online or find this issue on newsstands. You can NOW read this entire feature in the online edition of HM Magazine. If you're a subscriber, you get a free online/digital subscription with your print subscription. You can purchase a single online/digital edition (which includes access to back issues) for only $1.99. A one-year digital-only subscription can be had for only $6.
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Comments
By Doug Van Pelt
I am listening to the great new Demon Hunter album. It reminds me of a conversation I had with The Awakening's Ashton Nyte as we drove to downtown Austin to hang out and taste the fine city. I was playing him a tune from Summer Of Darkness, probably "My Heartstrings Come Undone," and he asked who it was. Our friend (Youngside's Arlene Marais) chided him for not recognizing music she'd played for him. Apparently he did not remember the band's more melodic side. I told him that they "did that" on every album. He said, "Well, that is what they should do more of!" While I do know that I am being spied on all the time, I would be surprised to hear that Ryan Clark and his compatriots in Demon Hunter had overheard that, but with Storm The Gates Of Hell, that is basically what the band has done. Instead of a token ballad here or there, the majority of the album allows for melodic singing along. There's still plenty of pummeling from the rhythm section, to be sure, but it's just a great melodic masterpiece. Check it out.
By CP
I dont understand why everyone thinks demon hunter is so great, there good but not great. Demon Hunter fans should check out bands like Alethian and Zao.
By Annaval
I'm ordering the album tomorow! I love the more mellodic stuff, so I'm really glad to hear that there's more of that in this one.
In a responce to CP, the reason why we love demon hunter, is that, unlike Zao, they SING as well as scream. Demon Hunter sounds more proffessional, and lastly, Zao is, for my tastes at least, a little too high of a scream. I like to sing/scream along with what I listen too, but I'm a bass, and even demon hunter is a little high sometimes. Maybe it's just phychological, but I far prefer DH to any other metal band out there.
By Carlos
This album is one of their heavier sounding ones, though still not heavy enough for my taste. The production sounds clean and the vocals and instruments sound decent but the breakdowns and clean vocals are a turn off for me.The intro to the first song sounded awesome to me but then the typical metalcore sounding vocals started and it kind of went down hill from there for me. The drumming throughout the album is excellent and I found it to be the part I liked most but the vocals seem to sound completely the same most of the album. The guitars sounded pretty good and I think they sounded best in "lead us home". Overall I would have enjoyed this album a lot more if they had a different vocalist.
