Demon Hunter - The World Is A Thorn (2010)

Solid State Records, March 9, 2010

Tracklist

1. Descending Upon Us

2. Lifewar
3. Collapsing
4. This is the Line
5. Driving Nails
6. The World is a Thorn
7. Tie This Around Your Neck
8. Just Breathe
9. Shallow Water
10. Feel As Though You Could
11. Blood In the Tears

This entry is one in a series of ten-year retrospectives on my favorite albums from the year 2010. Demon Hunter has had a long-running career, as their first album released in 2002, and has gained a reputation for earning a large fanbase despite rarely touring.  Outside of the band, frontman Ryan Clark and his brother Don have made their mark in the graphic design world with their art deco inspired studio, Invisible Creature Design.  2010 was a pivotal year for the artists on Solid State Records, so much so that there will be a few more albums from this label featured on this series. Additionally, this period marked the start of a stylistic shift for Demon Hunter where their use of keyboards and influences from the Swedish melodic metal (melodeath) scene became more prominent. In fact Soilwork singer Björn Strid and former Scar Symmetry vocalist Christian Älvestam both have guest features on this album with the tracks “Collapsing” and “Just Breathe”, respectively, both of which are among The World Is a Thorn's highlights. 

Ryan Clark is clearly a strong singer and this is evident on the slower ballad “Driving Nails”. The other time they slow things down is the closer "Blood In the Tears", which is good as well, but "Driving Nails" is the real emotional centerpiece of the record. Ryan’s vocal performance is moving and really shines on this song.  Another memorable cut is the melodic “Shallow Water” which has a excellent chorus and main riff.  There are a couple of tracks that underwhelm a bit.  "Lifewar" has an interesting idea but is little more than an extended outro for "Descending Upon Us", and I don't care for Dave Peters' guest vocal performance on the breakneck-paced “Feel as Though You Could”.  However, these don't take away from the standout material on this album, which is certainly one of Demon Hunter’s best projects to date.

The World is a Thorn marks a landmark release for the Seattle metal crew. With Demon Hunter, I feel that their output after True Defiance has waned in quality and become rather predictable and derivative of their earlier work. Subsequent projects like Extremist and Outlive went for the same formula and sound but did not reach the level set here. However, Demon Hunter's take on The World is a Thorn is a strong American incarnation of the Swedish metal sound, and contains some of their best songs overall. I give this album an overall score of 7/10, with the standout tracks being "Driving Nails", "Shallow Water" and "Collapsing".