Demon Hunter - True Defiance (2012)Release ID: 5481
The presence of Demon Hunter is strong and comforting in the metal world today. Unlike some bands who emerge and then disappear after a couple years, Demon Hunter stayed alive to make their 6th album, 12 years after their formation. Through their sound-changing years, they're still keeping their general consistency. Normally, bands who keep being consistent would end up becoming stale, but not this band, proven by their sixth release, True Defiance!
You know when a member of a band says that their next album would be their "most aggressive one to date", when it's only true half the time? That sounds about right when vocalist Ryan Clark made that claim because in most of the album, the lyrics are more aggressive than the music. Sure the album is still heavy but not as frantically energetic as their previous album The World is a Thorn. True Defiance makes up for that with its stylistic consistency. It's not as experimental as The World is a Thorn which came out as excellent while having one unfortunate song and one bizarre song that fortunately don't bring down its perfection. True Defiance is less mixed and more straight in the approach of harsh verses and melodic choruses. Giving the guitars more solid strength is Patrick Judge and newest member Jeremiah Scott. There are excellent solos, more than in previous albums, while still having A Plea For Purging-like metalcore riffs and a breakdown. This album is simple, but simply amazing!
Album opener "Crucifix" has all you can hope for in a Demon Hunter song; trembling bass, powerful chords, fast blunt-force drums, and lyrics about the vile world. The fast extreme metal guitar riffs are more prevalent than anything else Demon Hunter could've done. Wonderful! The vocals work best in "God Forsaken", containing furious verse breakdowns while staying clean in the melodic choruses. "My Destiny" also has passionate beautiful choruses surrounding chaotic verses. The band's love for groove metal can be found in the heavy mid-tempo "Wake".
"Tomorrow Never Comes" is an excellent ballad that sounds intense while staying melodic. The Christian tension in both the music and the culture addressed in the lyrics can be found in "Someone to Hate". Another groove track, "This I Know" is a song with elements the earliest listeners might already know from their debut, this time with more impact. The moody acoustic interlude "Means to an End" isn't worth a lot, but still nice.
"We Don't Care" sounds like a Christian battle song of apathy, where Christians don't care if the world around them is condemned by sin. A heavy song with a heavy theme! "Resistance" continues the battle-ready attitude while having the band's traditional song structure. The haunting standard edition closer "Dead Flowers" is a soft ballad that once again offers the lighter side of the band as a sweet ending after all that heaviness. So after that closing ballad in the standard edition, what is left? A couple bonus tracks in the deluxe edition, that's what, starting with the heavy yet dramatic "What is Left". The second and last bonus track, "I Am a Stone" sounds like a smoother closer than "Dead Flowers", this time being just a string-accompanied movement with some of the best written Demon Hunter lyrics. A little boring but still uplifting!
True Defiance has so many things you can expect from a long-running band. It's not as experimental as in previous albums but it's a well-thought tribute to Demon Hunter's thriving metalcore journey. Their formula and sound is fine-tuned to near-perfection. Not as awesome as their previous 3 albums, but a good runner-up!
Favorites: Crucifix, Wake, Tomorrow Never Comes, We Don't Care, Dead Flowers
