Review Summary: Extremist proves to be an incredible return to form for Demon Hunter.
I remember back when I first discovered Demon Hunter after they released
Summer of Darkness, they were one of the heaviest bands I had ever listened to. Granted, I was only just beginning my foray into metal at the time, but these guys stuck out. The lyricism and instrumentals only got better with the release of
The Triptych, demonstrating an even greater complexity and depth. Unfortunately there was something noticeably missing with
Storm the Gates of Hell and
The World is a Thorn. While both had some standout singles, they did not seem to have a cohesive feel to them. If anything, Demon Hunter seemed to be trying too hard to go in a different direction. The albums while more melodic, lacked the gritty feel of the band's Sophomore and Junior releases.
True Defiance was certainly a point of optimism, however. While the album retained Ryan Clark's knack for visceral imagery ("we will trample on our children 'til this world is flooded red") reminiscent of songs like "The Science of Lies" from
The Triptych ("snap your fingers, snap your neck"), the album also found a an incredible balance between a heavy and melodic feel. I'll be honest, prior to the album coming out, I did not have high hopes for what it might sound like. I still jumped at the opportunity to stream the album online as soon as it came out though, and what I heard was the Demon Hunter that I had enjoyed so much following
The Triptych.
Unfortunately there's always some skepticism following the resurgence of a band. Was the album just a fluke? Can they recapture that same flair they had? Demon Hunter faithful need not worry.
Extremist ends up not only answering those questions, but establishing itself as quite possibly Demon Hunter's best effort to date.
Perhaps the guys just needed a change in scenery. While the members of the band itself are spread out across the country, traditionally the band has always recorded their albums in Seattle. This time they decided to change things up a little bit and record the record in Tennessee with producer Aaron Sprinkle. They spent more time recording the album including recording final guitars first, and laying down electronic drums (allowing them to critique the sound) before recording the real drums. The attention to detail is noticeable. The drums are crisp and the guitar work clean (including the solos).
The balance between heavy and melodic has been struck beautifully. “Death” functions as a perfect dark and foreboding album opener and lead-in to “Artificial Light”. Stand-out heavy songs such as “Cross to Bear” and “Gasoline” are complemented nicely by more melodic offerings like “The Last One Alive” and “I Will Fail You”. Heck, even “Heart of a Graveyard” is, dare I say, catchy?
Lyrically I would actually say that
Extremist's songs are somewhat less dark than previous albums. The visceral imagery aforementioned is not as prevalent on this release, but that does not necessarily mean that the songs don't pack a punch. Rather, I would say that lyrical themes of unapologetic resilience in the face of adversity (“The Last One Alive”, “In Time”, “Gasoline”, and “Waste Me”), Hell/perception of the afterlife (“Hell Don't Need Me”, and “The Heart of a Graveyard”), and misplaced ideals (“Artificial Light”, and “I Will Fail You”), lend themselves to a feeling of solidarity throughout the album. For those who have been turned off by Demon Hunter's worldview/faith, this record certainly will not change your opinion. If anything, songs like “Gasoline” (a strongly-worded and tongue-in-cheek rebuke of those believing Clark and Co. should tone down their message) will only solidify those feelings.
It's truly difficult to find much of anything to criticize on this album. It appears that Demon Hunter has learned from its miscues with
Storm the Gates of Hell and
The World is a Thorn to finally find a formula balancing heavy and melodic that works. Thus we have been rewarded with back-to-back excellent albums in the form of
True Defiance and
Extremist. It's certainly not every day that you encounter lyrics or instrumentals of this caliber, and certainly less often coupled together. We can only hope that these guys continue to down the path they're going well into the future.
