Artist:  Demon Hunter
Title:  Storm the Gates of Hell
Label:  Solid State

The latest onslaught from metal favorite Demon Hunter opens with an explosion of thrash metal thunder and a torrential downpour of screaming vocals, guitars and speed drumming that rivals anything this genre has seen or heard in years.

Demon Hunter hits its stride with Storm the Gates of Hell, deftly navigating from clear skies to gray, mixing thrash, hardcore and traditional metal alongside melodic hooks and vocals. Amid the mayhem, the sunlight occasionally pokes through the clouds with the accessible modern rock melodies and vocals of the first single, “Fading Away.”

Lyrically the band is blatantly overt and unashamed of its spiritual mission, providing some surprisingly positive encouragement to undergo the battle against the forces of evil. “Thorns” talks about Christ’s sacrifice for us:  “You’ll find it in the veil of night where solitude is born/In the emptiness of broken flesh/At the mercy of the thorns.”  This powerful message whips through crashing waves of melodic hard rock. Whether or not you prefer the thrash or the rock, the screaming or the singing, Demon Hunter will help listeners weather the storm and light the path to overcome darkness with its best record yet.

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