Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Demon Hunter - War (2019)

Demon Hunter have got one of the most legendary metalcore bands out there. Why wouldn't they be? 20 years ago, the band started after the demise of Training for Utopia, and now they're one of the most successful bands signed by Solid State Records. They even have not just a 9th album but also a 10th album, and each of those two new albums have 10 tracks plus a bonus track, totaling 22 released in a single day!! These albums are War and Peace (reviewed in that order for chronology)!

Their previous album Outlive was the softest Demon Hunter album to date. There were still some heavy punches but more hard rock clean singing than in previous albums. War makes up for most of that! It has more heavy and heavier tracks than Outlive while still having hard rock songs with clean vocals. You might it's odd that one album has mostly heavy songs with a few soft ones and the other album has mostly soft songs with a few heavy ones but then you realize that's what Demon Hunter keeps doing in their albums. So while War is the heavier side of the book, it's the more well-rounded side too.

One of the album's greatest highlights is the opener "Cut to Fit" returning to the groove-metalcore from 10 years ago. "On My Side" also keeps up the metalcore aspect with drilling guitars and drum kicks alongside Ryan Clark's rock vocals. A great example of the band's long-lasting musicianship "Close Enough", especially in the verses rather than the chorus. If it wasn't for the growling and clean singing, those verses would sound like old-school metal bands like Metallica and Pantera. That is because of the main riff and guitar tone. The chorus is actually one of my favorites here, bringing it back to the usual Demon Hunter sound with driving guitars, bass, and drums meeting together with Ryan's clean vocals. So excellent!

"Unbound" has a nice dose of metalcore. "Grey Matter" is a cleaner highlight. "The Negative" is excellent, showing more of the vicious growls/screams in ways never usually heard from the band. Same with "Ash", which flashbacks to the thrash metal of early Metallica.

"No Place for You Here" continues the groove-metalcore which reminds me of Lamb of God in the heavy growling verses. "Leave Me Alone" is the longest song of this album and the entire War and Peace duo. Once again the band blends the melodic and heavy elements you've already known from Demon Hunter. "Lesser Gods" completes the War package with everything Demon Hunter fans know and love.

It's great when Demon Hunter comes out of the soft shadows for new heaviness, and that's what they did in War. As a heavier metalhead, I love War much more than Peace. So if you can only choose one of those two albums, I personally recommend buying this one. But either way, there's no wrong direction in this war!

Favorites: "Cut to Fit", "Close Enough", "Grey Matter", "The Negative", "Lesser Gods"