[Demon_Hunter]

Originally Posted by telestarjammer

I'm definitely looking forward to hearing new stuff from Demon Hunter. Been a fan since Summer of Darkness. I would like their to be an even mixture of Ryan's growling and clean vocals on the next album. Storm the Gates of Hell is my favorite album from them at this point.

I would say that on this album there is just about an even mix of Clean/Screamed vocals. And if it isnt even then it falls more heavily on the side of sung. Ryan does alot of singing this time around.

[normajean777]

I've been listening to this over and over. And really its just the same DH we've heard for the last records. I don't mind it, and I like singing along to the choruses, but the lack of more lyrics in each song, and the overly repeated choruses make these songs get old really fast. Its unfortunate.

[speedyone]

This is my first post on these boards, and first let me say that I am very happy to find a Christian guitar community!

I will contribute a somewhat lengthy review. First, let me preface my review with this: I greatly value that the members of DemonHunter are professing Christians, and they seem like people of great integrity (from interviews I've read/seen). I have been so sincerely touched within my soul listening to their music-- there are truly some incredibly inspirational musical/spiritual moments they have created on their albums!

Some of my favorite songs from their albums, from a lyrical and musical standpoint:

The Gauntlet
My Throat is an Open Grave
Infected
I Play Dead
Heartstrings
Undying
Science of Lies
Thread of Light
Incision
Follow the Wolves
Grand Finale

OK, now the review of their latest album...

Very, very disappointing. I am not going to trash it like I have seen others do on youtube posts in a childish way. Let me explain why I found it disappointing, in a respectful and hopefully adult way....

First, there is a very uncharacteristic lack of melody. Fans of DH know that they can put together brutal, heavy songs (as an example, Lead Us Home). However, even in heavy riffs there is usually a sense of melody. In this latest album, most (if not all) of the heavy riffs are just endless chugging interspersed with the occasional pinch harmonic. There are some exceptions, but as a fan of DH's ability to create heavy AND melodic riffs, I was greatly disappointed.

Another disappointment for me was the vocals. Whereas Storm the Gates of Hell featured Ryan singing in ways us fans had never heard him do (for example, the kind of raspy style of Fading Away and Incision), this latest album he just....for lack of a better adjective, growls. And that goes on.....and on.....and on..... I kept waiting for the glimpses of versatility he showed on the last album, but it didn't happen. Also, the clean vocals on Driving Nails and Blood in the Tears were so uninspired. I really FELT something when Ryan sang Heartstrings or Fading Away, not so with these songs.

Too often, it feels like this album is a poor attempt at being heavy just for the sake of being heavy. The death metal influence is much more apparent-- for example the fast single string picking you hear in Cradle of Filth, or Slayer, or Cannibal Corpse--which is unfortunate, because it feels completely out of place and out of character for DH.

Another nuisance is the addition of purposeful dissonance-- adding in some dissonant harmonies (for all you music theory nerds out there...you know who you are!) as well as some whammy pedal noises which just sound like distractions from the music, and do nothing for the melody obviously.

I could be wrong, but I think there was some sort of spiritual lack of inspiration during the making of this album. The lyrics....the actual QUALITY of the lyrics...is very uncharacteristically lacking in both creativity and emotional impact. Again, you may feel differently. A particular song stands out to each of us for our own reasons; I LOVE the lyrics in The Gauntlet because they speak to my soul...others may love Driving Nails (which I find to be rather boring and repetitive).

I will also confess that I have not given the album the listening time it deserves. When I first got it, I listened to all of track 1. (I mean the actual song, not just the intro.) Then maybe 1 minute of song 2, then 1-2 minutes of all the other songs. I immediately found them so subpar in composition,melody, and vocals, that I didn't even WANT to listen to every track in its entirety. Consider this: if you listen to a track for 2 minutes (and it is 5 or 6 minutes long,) and you really dislike it, why would you make yourself listen to it in hopes that it will get better? Well, I chose to listen to all the songs in their entirety (even the ones I really dislike) one time through.

I DO like Tie This Around Your Neck, and Collapsing is OK. However, I don't feel compelled to listen to them.

So what is my background in music that I have arrived at these opinions? Well, I am a HUGE DH fan, I've got all of their albums. Because of them, I discovered bands such as Killswitch Engage, in This Moment, Extol, Norma Jean, August Burns Red, Living Sacrifice, Red, etc. I've played guitar since I was 7 (I'm 35 now)..been in many bands.

You don't have to agree with me about this latest album-- in fact, I kind of hope you don't... I'd rather everyone love it, than feel let down like me. I guess I just felt the need to vent about my disappointment.

I of course wish the band the best for their spiritual lives, career, marriages, you name it. But I do hope they return to their more melodic side on their next album. Storm the Gates was by far my favorite album...a perfect mix of melody, lyrical prowess, and emotional impact.

Thanks for reading my post all.

[Darkhyperchaos]

Coming from someone who has all the DH albums and is a huge fan, I was a little disappointed with The World Is A Thorn. It's quite a bit better than Storm The Gates Of Hell, which I though was their worst album by quite a bit, but it still is lacking compared to their older material IMO. Here's all their studio albums listed from best to worst IMO.

1. Summer Of Darkness

2. The Triptych/Self titled (It's pretty much a tie, people love to hate on their first album, but I think it's excellent and one of their best albums.)

3. The Triptych/Self Titled

4. The World Is A Thorn

5. Storm The Gates Of Hell