Demon Hunter - World Is a Thorn (11 tracks) +Album Reviews

A Great Band, But A Not So Great Release

Ron Gibson | 03/13/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"When reviewing an album by a group that has previous releases, the new album should be looked at in two ways. First, how does the album stand on its own? Second, how does the album stand in relation to the band's previous work? Let's look at The World Is A Thorn on it's own first. Demon Hunter has consistently produced one great album after another, but it seems that tradition has hit a snag. One signature mark of DH that isn't often heard in metalcore (fill in whatever "brand" you want to give it) is the use of vocal harmonies. Some bands, defined as scream-o, intermix clean vocals in songs, but rarely do we hear true vocal harmonies, especially to the extent used by DH. This gives DH a distinctive, and fresh sound. Whether they make it work live is another discussion, but in the studio they pull it off. The first time I read the quote by Ryan Clark that Thorn was "heavier and more melodic" I cringed. The problem with a comment like this, is that the fans expect it to be "heavier", and if it doesn't clearly live up to it, then there is a measure of disappointment that wouldn't exist had the comment never been made. For me, there is a bit of disappointment, because it is not heavier. Sure the album is heavy overall, and you get the usual doses of double bass, and fast guitar riffing, but this album does not separate itself in heaviness from the other albums. Now let's look at Thorn in relation to DH's four previous studio albums. The Clark brothers always put a lot into packaging and design, but Thorn's packaging and layout is my least favorite of any of their releases. DH is now down to two original members, and the attrition rate seems to be catching up to the band. When the lineup was changed after Summer of Darkness, bringing in a new drummer and replacing one of the guitarists, the band changed direction slightly, and as it turns out, for the better. Tryptich marked a distinct new direction for the band, and they continued to build on what was already a great musical foundation. From their debut album through Storm The Gates of Hell, DH released better and better albums, each great in their own right, that offered new, and interesting things. Something however is missing from Thorn. I wasn't sure what it was myself, until I put Storm in and gave it a listen. All I can say is to do this yourself and maybe you'll hear what I'm talking about. Compared to Thorn, Storm is heavier, better written with better arrangement, and is more interesting musically- especially in the guitar work. The new guitarists did a great job, but they have their own thing going on. While overall it's still DH, Don Clark's signature is missing. I find myself hitting the "next" button on a couple of songs. The last one for example "Blood In The Tears" borders on cheesy. Thorn is my least favorite DH album. Thorn never made it onto my MP3 player, and within a week it was put up in my CD cabinet. When my metal hunger hits, the "one-two" punch of Storm The Gates of Hell and Lead Us Home can't be beat. To be honest, it's more like a "one-two-three-four" punch."

Demon Hunter's Hugest Leap In A New (And Wonderful) Directio

Media Lover | 03/11/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a long time fan of Demon Hunter. I'm not going to say "this album is awesome, X album blew, Y album was just ok" because I love them all deeply. That being said, "The World is a Thorn" is an entirely new and awesome Demon Hunter that at once expands the heavy metal sound and enhances the melodic choruses. The biggest change I notice on this album is the new affinity for swedish metal riffs and even some dual lead solos! The guitar in general is far more technical and metal oriented on this album. (The guitar solo on "Collapsing" is almost too good to be true.) Melodically "Driving Nails" is perhaps the best song the band has written. It blends the heartbreaking prose of "My Throat is an Open Grave" with the rock ballad tastiness of "Heartstrings Come Undone."

If you're looking for great Christian lyrics... look no further! This is sort of a concept album built around the idea that the world and it's secular ideas are killing our souls. Pretty brutal, very true! The lyrics remind me a ton of Living Sacrifice's "The Infinite Order."

BOTTOM LINE:

What else is there to say? Demon Hunter has proven once again that they belong at the absolute forefront of Christian (or secular) metal."

A Step Backwards

The Mean-o-taur | Hades | 03/29/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I discovered this band shortly after The Triptych was released and quickly got on the bandwagon. Demon Hunter has quickly become one of my favourite bands and after the brilliance of Storming the Gates of Hell I was very excited when The World is a Thorn was announced. Sadly, however, I have to say that I'm quite disappointed.

From the opening of "Descending Upon Us" you can tell that this is going to be a different album that the last that have been released. It begins with a slow build up and then an amazing scream and then after that... BOOM! It gets going and sounds great. This only holds up for the half of the song and then it falls apart. The same can be said for the majority of the songs on the album. It doesn't feel like there is as much emotion put into the songs after "Collapsing" except for moments when you get to "Tie This Around Your Neck" and "Feel As Though You Could".

After the great compositions on the previous albums like "Sixteen", "The Science of Lies", "My Heartstrings Come Undone" and "A Broken Upper Hand" this album just feels as if it struggles to reach the finish line. I have to say that the brightest part of the album is "Life War" which is also the shortest song. The departure of the two previous guitarists is felt on this recording and it might be the fact that the band is now trying to find the spark that will make this incarnation of Demon Hunter great, but as of this recording, they've not yet found it."

Demon Hunter- The World Is A Thorn [crobsession.tumblr.com]

Christian Rock OBSESSION | 03/10/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The fifth album of the revolutionary Christian metal band, Demon Hunter, was promised to be heavier and more melodic. We hear that promise all the time with metal bands, but rarely do they deliver on that promise. Well, I believe that The World Is A Thorn is exactly what it was said to be. But it begs the question--is heavier and more melodic better?

Before this album was released, I had heard it. The only thing was that I didn't have any written lyrics to go by, which was at first a bit of a disappointment, but gave me time to dissect the musical aspect of the record. "Descending Upon Us," the album's first song, has both aspects that the DH guys guaranteed. While some things are different, it's a standard DH song. It opens up with heavy guitars and screaming that fades away to a slower chorus with Ryan Clark's talented vocals. But the next song, "LifeWar," is something totally out of the ordinary. To start, it doesn't even top two minutes. Secondly, it's heavier and darker than your average DH song. While the lyrics are somewhat meaningful, I'm tempted to call this song filler. That's extremely disappointing, seeing how Demon Hunter doesn't come out with new music as often as some other bands do. In my opinion, every moment of the album should be something extraordinary if they're going to make us wait three years between albums and barely tour at all. But I guess this song must have been important to the band, otherwise it wouldn't be on the record. I just don't care for it.

However, the music climbs from a valley to a peak with the album's first single, "Collapsing." It experiments with a few different styles, and Clark gets to use his singing vocals a lot more. It's undoubtedly one of the very best from The World Is A Thorn. "This Is The Line" combines the heavier side and more melodic side expertly in its opening few seconds. It carries on to become an overall heavy track, with a chorus that I think the band's biography sums up best: as a "hard-driving, fist-pumping anthem." A fantastic guitar solo by one of Demon Hunter's newest members, Patrick Judge, is one that fans will find particularly appealing.

The most melodic track on the album is a song called "Driving Nails." It's even more so than Storm the Gates of Hell's epic "Carry Me Down." It's another one of my close favorites on this record, mainly because of the character given to it by the unbelievable string section. The combination of the strings and Clark's voice is perfect. No other word can describe the sound of this song.

The following two songs, "The World Is A Thorn" and "Tie This Around Your Neck," are both heavy songs, the former being one of the heaviest on the album. It's not so heavy that it's not enjoyable, but there is no singing at all, something that kind of disappoints me with a Demon Hunter song. Sometimes I wonder why Clark doesn't just sing all the time. Yet it remains a fantastic song, in my mind. "Tie This Around Your Neck," follows suit in regards to heaviness, and even touches on the dark side a bit more. Unlike the previous track, this one does have some singing, which gives it a little bit of a lighter feel. "Just Breathe" is another hard track, but comes across as almost catchy. It opens with what sounds kind of like a synth, and the chorus is something you could find yourself tapping your feet to--aggressively, but tapping nonetheless. The much deeper and creepier screaming provided by Christian Alvestam--much like Bruce Fitzhugh's contribution on "Sixteen" last time around--does give the song a bit of a heavier sound than it would have with just Clark's vocals. An outstanding guitar solo near the end of the song is one of its many highlights.

"Shallow Water" is a song that tends to get a little annoying with certain repeating guitar parts. The vocals are slightly irritating and dark throughout without much to make things better besides a very short chorus. It comes close to being one of the worst songs on the album. "Feel As Though You Could" just barely recovers from the slump, but ends up sounding a lot like "A Thread of Light" from Storm the Gates.... It's a brutal track displaying Yogi Watt's expert drumming a little better than most songs. It's definitely something for hardcore metal fans to get into, being among one of the heaviest on the album, although coming across as a little weird. The album's finale, "Blood In The Tears," is the second ballad on the album. It doesn't have the amazing strings that "Driving Nails" has, and it's most interesting attribute is its lyrics. Which brings us to an examination of Ryan Clark's writing.

All lyrical content of The World Is A Thorn is as to be expected--rock solid. While certain songs like "Tie This Around Your Neck" or "Blood In The Tears" seem questionable upon first listen, a quick examination of the actual lyrics ought to clear any doubt. "Driving Nails" stands out as an incredibly poetic track, while songs like "The World Is A Thorn" are meant purely for pummeling our eardrums with a message that screams, "Won't bow to man/ Won't bow to government/ Won't trust in a failed system of self-fulfilling lust/ Won't love a world where my God is mocked/ I defy."

So is Demon Hunter's fifth effort their best? I don't think so. It's much heavier throughout, yet the ballads stick out as the dominant tracks. With a metal band like DH, it would make sense that it should be the other way around. The band took a step into different territory, and I honestly believe that heavier is better in some instances but not others. The World Is A Thorn is an instance where it works in places, but overall doesn't sound as impressive as their past two albums. I'm sure I'll find myself enjoying this album more and more in the days to come, but I just don't see it as standing up to some of their older work."

Best album from Demon Hunter...

mjab | Gardena, California | 04/01/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First I need to ask this, how can anyone be dissapointed with this album? I think a lot of people are still stuck with Summer Of Darkness days and much has improved since that, this is way better.

Their first 2 albums are pure hardcore, with influences of hard rock and nu metal. The song structures were a lot different than now, how do I know? Notice the slow paced breakdowns and rythms, there are no extreme fast drumming or guitar solos.

That's because since The Triptych they added metal-ish elements to their music. Since that album, although it was a little bit softer, they started experimenting with metal elements, for example The Soldier's Song (sounds pretty metal to me).

Then, with Storm The Gates Of Hell, they used some Summer Of Darkness structures but mostly powered the sound of The Triptych, and added some new things, so the result is a heavier fast-paced melodic hardcore , with slow heavy breakdowns, some guitar solos and noticiable experimenting elements.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, with TWIAT we got what I call pure Metalcore: fast, dynamic, heavier but more melodic with incredible guitar solos and with more variable voice "techniques". Man, this album is a bomb, check out Just Brethe or the title track, it's the heaviest track of Demon Hunter, period, theres nothing like that in Summer Of Darkness come on! I admit than their darker album was SOD and some depth found in STGOH is lost here, but I'll stick with this, it's more complex and technical. Sometimes this album sounds like The Showdown's Backbreaker, and I love that album. As for the ballads, I never complain, I like all the ballads from this band...

Respect to this band and congratulations, they have done an amazing job and now I don't see how they are going to top this... A must buy!"

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