Demon Hunter Storm the Gates of Hell
Solid State Records 094639560523 2007
By Jason Jordan
The last Demon Hunter album I heard in its entirety was 2002s Self-Titled. Since then, the Seattleites unleashed Summer of Darkness in 2004, The Triptych in 2005, and Storm the Gates of Hell here in 2007. Evidently, not much has changed in the Demon Hunter camp, however, as StGoH is an innocuous yet Billboard-friendly record from an average band.
There are genuinely abrasive moments like in the growl-laden, guitar squeal-ridden title track, Follow the Wolves, Fiction Kingdom, and finale The Wrath of God, but for the most part, this quintet lace their songs with catchy, clean vocal-lined passages as in the ballad-y Lead Us Home, Fading Away, and Thorns. The silver lining is Sixteen, which contains string accompaniment and guest vocals courtesy of ex-Living Sacrifice growler/guitarist Bruce Fitzhugh. Lamentably, with 12 tracks that last upwards of 51 minutes, this will test your patience because its simply not varied enough to hold ones attention for that amount of time.
Overall, Storm the Gates of Hell is a pedestrian record that wont appeal to many readers of this site. As for me, I preferred the brothers Clark when they were helming Training for Utopia. In any case, Demon Hunter are lucrative, which is more than can be said about the defunct TfU.
Official Demon Hunter Website
Official Solid State Records Website
Solid State Records 094639560523 2007
By Jason Jordan
The last Demon Hunter album I heard in its entirety was 2002s Self-Titled. Since then, the Seattleites unleashed Summer of Darkness in 2004, The Triptych in 2005, and Storm the Gates of Hell here in 2007. Evidently, not much has changed in the Demon Hunter camp, however, as StGoH is an innocuous yet Billboard-friendly record from an average band.
There are genuinely abrasive moments like in the growl-laden, guitar squeal-ridden title track, Follow the Wolves, Fiction Kingdom, and finale The Wrath of God, but for the most part, this quintet lace their songs with catchy, clean vocal-lined passages as in the ballad-y Lead Us Home, Fading Away, and Thorns. The silver lining is Sixteen, which contains string accompaniment and guest vocals courtesy of ex-Living Sacrifice growler/guitarist Bruce Fitzhugh. Lamentably, with 12 tracks that last upwards of 51 minutes, this will test your patience because its simply not varied enough to hold ones attention for that amount of time.
Overall, Storm the Gates of Hell is a pedestrian record that wont appeal to many readers of this site. As for me, I preferred the brothers Clark when they were helming Training for Utopia. In any case, Demon Hunter are lucrative, which is more than can be said about the defunct TfU.
Official Demon Hunter Website
Official Solid State Records Website
