Demon Hunter
Demon Hunter
Solid State
This record is 95% butt kicking metal goodness, with the bad 5% coming in the form of actual singing that belongs nowhere near this type of music. I hate it when a band is totally rockin’ out, the growls and tough utterances and screams are bouncing off of the walls, things are loud and very forward moving… then all of a sudden, the lead growler breaks into a clean-voiced melody line. Talk about a downer! It’s been said by many that Demon Hunter is the second coming of Slipknot, and I agree for some reasons, yet disagree for others.
First off, when this band wants to rock out, they do so with fury, force, and a destructive manner worthy of abundant praise. The guitars are buzzsaws scraping and grinding, the drums are enormous and overpowering, and the lead growler’s voice is first rate. Thing is, when this band wants to suck, they do that with ferocity as well.
“My Throat is an Open Grave” is one of the corniest metal ballads I’ve ever heard in my life. The lead singer has this half drugged, half tired, half retarded thing in his voice on this song, reminding me of a dozen generation X alterna-bands from the mid ’90s. I even think I heard some violins and drum samples in this song! Yuck!
So, the Slipknot comparisons have been made, and they are warranted. Slipknot, when rocking, is a pretty decent metal band; thing is, they have a tendency to get wussy and sing and stuff, and no real metal fan wants their metal weighed down by some corny 311-esque melodic singing. So, putting it simply, Demon Hunter and Slipknot are both bands that could be infallible metal stalwarts, were it not for their love for cheese.
The Slipknot comparison, though, is only partly accurate; Demon Hunter shows a band far more evolved than even Iowa-era Slipknot. Demon Hunter’s musicians are of much higher steed than those in Slipknot, and Demon Hunter’s lead growler is way better than whatever # the guy is who sings for Slipknot.
This is better than any Slipknot stuff I’ve heard, and I actually really liked Iowa (the first major label release they did was a piece of crap, let’s be honest). Demon Hunter may not want or need to ride Slipknot’s coattails to success, but it won’t hurt either. Fans of Slipknot will eat this up.
Solid State Records: http://www.solidstaterecords.com
