The first album by Christian metal band Demon Hunter, including a few of their earliest hits like "Infected" and "My Throat is an Open Grave."

Let me start things off with this: Demon Hunter is my favorite band of all time. In addition to that, this was among their weakest albums in my book, and while that isn't necessarily a bad thing considering their catalog is just that good, I might have not given it the greatest chance it deserved. Up front, yes, the album's sound is a bit more raw and aggressive than later contributions to their discography; the mix isn't always as clean, but that adds to the "charm" of the album, if you will. It gives it that extra layer of heaviness that later albums lack. That's not too say it skimps out in the softer parts, though, with a few slower and softer tracks like "My Throat is an Open Grave" and "The Gauntlet." And while it doesn't contain as many hits as later albums do, it does have its fair share of heavy hitters, such as what is likely the album's most renowned track, "Infected," and a couple of others that are personal favorites of mine: "I Have Seen Where It Grows," "Turn Your Back and Run," and, one of my top tracks of their whole discography, "Through the Black" (which, fun fact, was the band's first song that they wrote). All in all, this is a solid first outing for one of the giants of the Christian metal scene, and while it is not as polished and fully enticing as later albums, it brings the heaviness and quality and has aged like fine wine. Highly recommended for fans of the genre.

Content Concerns: Nothing objectionable.

(May 21, 2023) ( )