Demon Hunter at Guelph Concert Theatre
A dreary day and incredibly slippery snow failed to keep anyone away from the Guelph Concert Theatre Wednesday Feb 27th. Demon Hunter rolled into town in their support role for the headliner, the Swedish metal band, In Flames.
It’s rare to see Demon Hunter serve as an opener for a larger band, as they normally assume the role of headliner. Ryan Clark, frontman and vocalist for Demon Hunter, spoke with The Antidote a few hours before going on stage. He said they were enjoying the lack of stress on their current tour with In Flames. Playing a straight-forward 40 minute, 10 song set, instead of their typical 80 minute show. What seemed to have the greatest significance to Demon Hunter was having a superb tour crew taking care of all the set-up and tear-downs.
I’m sorry if fans of Battlecross, All Shall Perish, and In Flames expect to see some input from The Antidote about these bands. Their synced hair flips of Battlecross were too much for me . I imagined that those days were long gone. All Shall Perish loves to say “f…..g” and uses it, on average, 1 out of every 5 words. This lack of intelligent vocabulary does little to impress me with their intellect.
Now to the task at hand, Demon Hunter. I was surprised to find that with a 10 year career, this was the first time Demon Hunter had performed in Canada. They were tying to make up for lost time with a total of nine Canadian dates spread across the country.
Demon Hunter doesn’t deliver a great deal of stage presence. What they do deliver is incredible music from extremely talented band members. The duo of Patrick Judge on lead guitar and Jeremiah Scott on rhythm guitar is awesome. The timing of these two masters playing of off each other is simply amazing. Jonathan Dunn on bass delivers a solid line. At the helm of his classic drum kit, Yogi Watts carries the beat.
Vocalist Ryan Clark has one of the greatest vocals in metal. Clark can drop from his distinctive clean clear vocals into a roar without a break. During a live performance he gains some help from the rest of the members of Demon Hunter. Each will take a single line of vocals to help Clark make the transition. This more than shows the professionalism of Demon Hunter. Coordinating the each vocals of four members is no mean feat.
I had hoped that Demon Hunter may have been able to sneak in a one of their beautiful ballads, but it was no surprise to see them stick with many of their defining songs. Ballads are too out of context at a show such as this. My hope is to see them return to Canada as a head-liner and take some time to stretch out their repertoire.
Demon Hunter setlist:
Someone to Hate
Undying
The World Is a thorn
Lifewar
God Forsaken
My Destiny
We Don’t Care
Just Breathe
Collapsing
Storm the Gates of Hell