Demon Hunter - Storm the Gates of Hell (2007)^{Release ID: 5479}

5 years since their debut, Demon Hunter had already elevated their hardcore metal status. You might've heard of Demon Hunter a lot in the mainstream side of metal back then. Then after their hit record The Triptych, the band picks up where it ended with Storm the Gates of Hell!

This album has both the band's heaviest moments and their most melodic times. Once again following the 3-edition album tradition, the album has a regular edition, fan edition, and deluxe edition. I already have the deluxe edition but I will review it as if it's the regular edition. This album feels like taking on Christian adversity and not let sins creep in the faith. It's not a concept album but the lyrical content might just form a concept.

This is evident in the opening title track, a brutal thrash-metalcore feast of screams and blasting chorus that would give you a headbanging headache. That song starts the concept with an army of Christian angel warriors storming the gates of Hell to battle Satan's demon knights. Killer beginning! "Lead Us Home" is a bit generic in the first verse, but when you get to the chorus, you notice a big leap for Demon Hunter into atmospheric melody. There's a breakdown with Ryan Clark's Slipknot grumbling/growling vocals which you'll never find again in this album. "Sixteen" sounds much more original, starting with a long experimental chamber cello/guitar one and a half minute intro before vocals come in, including edgy guest vocals by Bruce Fitzhugh of Living Sacrifice in the pre-chorus, in contrast to the clean chorus. The breakdown has interesting lyrics. "Fading Away" is slightly experimental. The vocal styles are swapped with clean verses, a screamed pre-chorus, and a higher clean chorus that's friendly to the radio but not to the hardcore fans. This is probably the most pop-ish non-ballad song in this album, but it's solid and never horrible.

"Carry Me Down" is a stunning ballad that's absolutely gorgeous. It can make a good funeral song for Ryan Clark, with lyrics speaking of faith and heaven. The chorus is so comforting, but the earlier metalcore tension would be regained later on in this album. "A Thread of Light" is a song title that's more appropriate for a ballad, though the song itself is filled with Ryan's angry growls. Even the clean singing in the chorus sounds a little ticked off! The hardcore continues in the heavy "I Am You", a metalcore power-track with lyrics of sword battles to the death and thick heavy guitars. Continuing the battle between Heaven and Hell scenario, where the demon knights manage to defeat the army of angel warriors and rise to heaven. But there's actually a second more powerful wave of angels that push the demons back into the abyss of Hell. "Incision" once again has the vocal swap of clean verses and choruses, and screamed pre-choruses. This extreme surprise really works, especially in the repeated screams of "CUT IT OFF!!"

"Thorns" is a more dramatic ballad with irresistible melody. This is almost a perfect song for the radio, sounding like a pop rock ballad that could've been written by Daughtry. The chorus is worth singing along. One of my favorite melodic tracks here! "Follow the Wolves" has vicious guitars and powerful lyrics with the trade-offs between screaming and singing faster than if you've done it yourself without mixing. Incredible mix of melody and intensity! "Fiction Kingdom" should've been the last song in the regular edition, you'll see why soon. The verses have an angry death metal tone growling about graves, before the poppy chorus. That's interesting! "The Wrath of God" is the one song I don't like as much. It has generic verses and chorus that sounds like a stale rip-off from Summer of Darkness.

This review would be more complete with the two bonus tracks "No Reason to Exist" and "Grand Finale", but I've described enough. With lyrics so intriguing and sometimes haunting, emotional moments of driving mayhem, and the band's well-known intensity, Storm the Gates of Hell and its two surrounding albums, The Triptych and The World is a Thorn, are 3 of the best Demon Hunter albums, and they would make a perfect trilogy if not for "The Wrath of God". A few soft moments make Demon Hunter a bit more distinct, away from heavier metal bands. This is an album that anyone should try, whether they're metal fans or not, for the band's infectious sound. Storm those gates!

Favorites: "Storm the Gates of Hell", "Sixteen", "Carry Me Down", "I Am You", "Thorns", "Follow the Wolves"