Reviews

Demon Hunter obviously has musical talent and a gifted production team behind them, so why did they give us this, songs that I would turn off the radio to avoid?  Summer of Darkness starts out with a crushing riff, an opening to what could be the next mosh-tastic Hatebreed or Throwdown record. Brutal vocals, heavy sounds, the works. And then…the off-tone flat ‘melodic’ singing comes in and permeates the entire album, sending a promising record clear into the realm of unlistenable nu-metal.  Summer of Darkness also include much of the overproduced quasi-techno beats that (dis)graced the most recent Solid State Zao full-length.  Unfortunately, Demon Hunter bears more resemblance to radio friendly fare like Disturbed or Linkin Park than they do the aforementioned hardcore heavyweights. The ingredients are there; the double bass, the tight guitars, the gruff vocals, the preoccupation with the macabre, but Summer of Darkness is less than the sum of its parts.