Triptych [Enhanced]

Having been a fan of Demon Hunter since their self-titled album, I have to say that this is easily the best of their three albums. Basically, it combines what I view as the best aspects of the first two albums. The first album had a very focused sound, with ten tracks (nine songs, one intermission-type affair), but had less-than-perfect production. Summer of Darkness sounded much cleaner; however, it felt unfocused, as the guest singers and the number of songs (13) distorted the clarity of the album's message. Both were definitely great albums, however, with SoD being an overall improvement over the self-title.

On to The Triptych. I'll go with a song-by-song analysis at first, then sum things up at the end.

The Flame That Guides Us Home: It's an introduction to Not I, so there isn't much to say. It does provide a good introduction to the album, however. (n/a)

Not I: Heavy and fast. Awesome drumwork combined with awesome vocals makes for an awesome song. Very well executed, and starts the album off extremely strong. (10/10)

Undying: The first single off of the new album. It's pretty solid, with good metal vocals leading into a more melodic chorus. The only problem is that said sequence is becoming somewhat formulaic for Demon Hunter; it isn't a problem yet, though. (8/10)

Relentless Intolerance: Another solid song. Still follows the aforementioned formula, which is slightly upsetting. What redeems this song (and much of the album) from monotony is the more refined guitar and drumwork. Still, this song is merely solid, nothing exceptional. (7/10)

Deteriorate: The first of three(!) ballads on the album. Good melody combined with a good mix of sound make this song better than its counterpart on Summer of Darkness, the almost Linkin Park-esque My Heartstrings Come Undone. It feels more focused than the aforementioned track and gets heavy at all the right times. (8/10)

The Soldier's Song: Definitely a good song; it alternates between the metal vocals and the melodic vocals at places other than the chorus, which saves it from mindlessly following the same formula as Not I/Undying/Relentless Intolerance. That, and it has an extremely good flow to it. (8.5/10)

Fire to My Soul: This song, thanks to the effects used with the guitar, has a somewhat unique sound when compared to other tracks on the album. I have to comment again on the much-improved drumwork on this album; the drum rolls accent the vocals very well on this track, and the drum solos in general improve the album immensely. (8.5/10)

One Thousand Apologies: The second ballad on the album. It comes very close to feeling stale, with unoriginal subject matter and nothing exceptional instrumentally. The bridge with the metal vocals help this song, however, as the metal vocals contrast with the melodic vocals which permeate this song and the other ballads. They provide this song with a brief breath of fresh air; however, it needs a bit more. (7/10)

The Science of Lies: Similar to Beauty in the Eyes of a Predator off of Summer of Darkness, this song condemns the materialistic nature of society. And it does a very good job, with a focused message and minimal guitarwork during the verses. The drums during the chorus are extremely well-done, and like The Soldier's Song, slight variations in the DH formula increase the effectiveness of this song. (9/10)

Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck: A surprisingly good cover. Demon Hunter does a good job of making the song their own. The staccato guitars and the focus on the bass during the first verse help the song have its own unique feel. I'm not sure why, but this song just feels extremely fresh. Despite its secular origin, the song fits in with the album's subject matter very well, especially with the lines "Expectations of my daily bread / Gives me the hunger to steal." The grammatical error in said lines urks me, but I'm over it. I personally love this song. (9.5/10)

Ribcage: The last heavy song on the album. The intensity of the album wanes slightly compared to Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck, but overall this song's very solid. May I mention the drumwork again? It may not be anything technically exceptional, but it just works much better on this album than on either of the prior two. Still, this song feels a touch too similar to various other DH songs. (8/10)

The Tide Began to Rise: The last ballad and the last song. From the piano introduction to the resounding last lines "If this is all the love my spirit can give / Just take it back tonight / There is not a reason more to live," this song is simply breathtaking. The light instruments contrast very well with what came before, yet the song fits into place. It's far more effective than any of Demon Hunter's prior ballads; it successfully accomplishes an epic sound and provides the perfect end to an extremely good album. This may be somewhat pretentious of me, but in my humble opinion, it's the best closing song since "Hurt" on Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral. (10/10)

So that's it. Thanks to its relatively low track count (12, with one introduction, so 11 true songs), it retains the focused feel of the self-title but also retains the incredible production of Summer of Darkness. I would argue that the production is actually improved over SoD, but it's pretty close.

Basically, this album is the most refined album Demon Hunter has produced yet. As I noted, however, Demon Hunter is approaching a formulaic stage that must be avoided for the band to continue in its excellence. This album is about as good as an album based on their formula can get; however, songs such as Not I; Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck; and The Tide Began to Rise prove that Demon Hunter is more than capable of fresh songwriting. Hopefully, their fourth album will provide more originality. For now, however, this album excels in its aims; it's truly an excellent, well-rounded metal album.

Final notes: Demon Hunter, despite their Christian label, does not come across as overtly in-your-face religious music. I have recommended this to secular company as easily as I have to religious company. The Christian side of their writing actually provides them with an edge and a focus in their lyrics that few metal bands possess. Instead of trying to convert the listener, and annoying said listener in the process, Demon Hunter uses their spirituality to their advantage.

Well, this CD has been in and out of my stereo several times throughout the past few months. This is the only Demon Hunter album I own, and I'll probably keep it that way. That's not because I didn't like this record; in fact, I really dig this record. It's just that from what I've heard and read about the band's two previous records doesn't get me all that excited. I'm a big fan of melody in my metal. The Triptych has loads of melody, which seems to be lacking in the beginning of Demon Hunter's catalogue. I really can't stand to listen to bands like Cannibal Corpse and Deicide because, even though these guys are tight and groovy, they seem to stick to the upper frets of the guitars (except for the solos of course). I appreciate the talent, but I don't get my rocks off on that style. Melodic metal can groove just as nice, yet I feel like the music is actually going somewhere. The Triptych has a great blend of groove and melody in my opinion. There are nice thrashy breakdowns in the vein of hardcore, and yet the riffs take more than single-finger power chords to pull off. Also, I really dig Ryan Clark's vocal delivery. His growls are good. He doesn't whine, and he's semi-discernable. His singing voice is surprisingly good. He actually has some range. I like it. The guitars are tight, and the lead work is admirable (at least they put solos in the songs.). The bass and drums seem to do a good job. Nothing seems out of place. Some may think that the quality is too clean, but I can't stand it when the mixing puts a certain instrument in the back/foreground. I don't understand when a reviewer thinks that the recording doesn't sound "raw" enough. If the band wanted to have a crappy sound quality, they'd release a bootleg of one of their shows. Now, some of the songs fumble slightly, but I think that, overall, the album is in the top of the class, especially for a year in which Nickelback, Staind and Papa Roach are still recording.

Finally, I've been reading some of the reviews, and it churns my stomach when I read that because these guys are presenting a Christian message, they are immediately negated from the metal community. True, metal is usually considered to be a "Satanic" genre. But I was under the impression that metal was started more as a counter-culture, much like punk. What's more metal than a group of guys standing up in the middle of this "Satanic" scene and declaring their faith??? If you ask me, that takes true cojones. Metal came alive in the 80's, somewhat as a giant middle finger to disco and other shallow forms of music. Lately, the metal community has sort of stagnated. The emergence of fresh talented metalheads is becoming few and far between. You really have to look to find an original metal act. Everyone is following in someone else's footprints. Demon Hunter has the intensity of most modern death metal bands, and they are delivering a (relatively) fresh spin on the genre. A lot of naysayers say that metal and Christian can't mix, like water and oil. But there is nothing in the Bible (ie-the book that states Christianity's true doctrine) that says that if the message is aggresive, it's not Christian. I'll be the first to admit that Christians aren't getting Christianity right. I'm not shocked to read so much anti-Christian sentiment because it's rare to see a true Christian example in modern society. But I also think its ironic how reviewers write about how narrow-minded Christians are, and yet they don't give Christian music the light of day. If the guys are doing a good job, why do you have to give them flack just because of their personal convictions? If it rubs you so bad, get out and play. Stop whining about how these "pussies aren't really metal" because they don't follow the typical and well-trodden path that most metal bands are using. I mean, they have a song dedicated to the US soldiers presently in Iraq when the "cool" thing to do right now is denouce the war. THAT'S METAL!!!!! - to state your opinion, even if it isn't popular. What happened to the metal counter-culture????

Bottom line - If you like heavy music, and you aren't a narrow-minded, ignorant Pagan, check this disc out. It's got great groove, nice melody, a good mix of growling and singing and a positive message. I'm done 4 STARS

Heavy Metal Forever!!!!!!

Demon Hunter are one of those bands that sticks with you. The kind that stands the test of time. One you can listen to 10 years from now (assuming that they may be done by then) and totally wish you could see them live just ONE MORE TIME.

DH are back with their third album "The Triptych". This time around, they basically stick to what made them great, a good dose of attitude and heaviness, but add a little more old-school speed and technical prowess.

This is a fantastic CD that will have you both singing along and wanting to smash something at the same time, much like their previous self-titled debut and their follow-up "Summer of Darkness".

Demon Hunter have never been apologetic about what they believe in, and this is no different. Far from a CCM-styled Christian band however, these guys aren't afraid to give a nod to their secular predecessors in the form of a cover tune "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck" originally recorded by Prong back in the early 90's. And a very good rendition of it is performed here on "The Triptych".

Standouts so far for me are "The Light That Guides Us Home", "The Science of Lies", "Deteriorate" & "Fire To My Soul", but there are no filler songs that I can make out. Nope, pure Demon Hunter brutality mixed with the catchy and very singable parts as well.

That's another thing, let me just say that Ryan Clark has a good singing voice. He never tries to overdo it either, which is good because too many people do that and it's old.

I had the chance to meet these guys at Cornerstone Festival in 2003 and it was a great experience. God Bless you guys and may this album take you to new heights!

If you like Fear Factory, Machine Head, Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, or Slipknot, do yourself a favor and buy a Demon Hunter CD. They do not disappoint!