Demon Hunter — Demon Hunter

Demon Hunter began in Seattle in 2000 as a studio project by two brothers who kept their faces and names hidden. A quarter of a century later, the band have released a dozen studio albums, sold more than 600,000 records and never once backed away from calling themselves a Christian band. In 2026 they announced a tour for the twentieth anniversary of Storm the Gates of Hell.

The Clark brothers

Don and Ryan Clark had played together in Training for Utopia, a band that started out influenced by Coalesce and Neurosis and grew more experimental. As a teenager, Ryan had also played guitar in the hardcore band Focal Point, which released Suffering of the Masses on Tooth & Nail in 1996.

Demon Hunter first showed up on the compilation This Is Solid State Vol. 3 in February 2002, with a demo of "Through the Black." The self-titled debut came out on Solid State on October 22, 2002. The brothers wrote all the songs and played most of the instruments, with Ryan singing. Jesse Sprinkle, formerly of Poor Old Lu, played drums.

At first, the members hid their identities in photos and press. Their names came out when they went on their first tour, with Norwegian Christian metal band Extol and The Agony Scene, with Sprinkle, bassist Jon Dunn and guitarist Kris McCaddon in the live lineup.

Summer of Darkness

Summer of Darkness arrived on May 4, 2004, and pushed Demon Hunter into the wider metal world. The "Not Ready to Die" video played on MTV2's Headbangers Ball and Fuse, and "My Heartstrings Come Undone" landed on the Resident Evil: Apocalypse soundtrack. Guests included Howard Jones of Killswitch Engage, Brock Lindow of 36 Crazyfists, Mike Williams of The Agony Scene and Trevor McNevan of Thousand Foot Krutch. That summer they toured with Dead Poetic and Haste the Day, with Timothy "Yogi" Watts on drums. We reviewed the album here.

The Triptych

The band recorded their third album at The Compound in Seattle in 2005. The Triptych, named for the idea of three as their third album, brought in Watts full-time and guitarist Ethan Luck. It sold more than twice as many copies in its first week as Summer of Darkness. "Undying" was the first single and video, and "One Thousand Apologies" followed with director Darren Doane. In 2006 they toured with Zao, Becoming the Archetype, August Burns Red and Spoken. Our review of The Triptych is here.

In December 2006, Revolver ran a cover story on Christian metal, calling Ryan Clark, Underoath's Spencer Chamberlain, As I Lay Dying's Tim Lambesis and Norma Jean's Cory Brandan Putman "The Holy Alliance."

Storm the Gates of Hell

Storm the Gates of Hell came out on November 6, 2007. "Fading Away" was the first single and video, and "Carry Me Down" premiered on Headbangers Ball in March 2008. Even as their profile grew, they still turned up on small Christian metal radio shows.

In 2008 they headlined the Stronger Than Hell tour with the reunited Living Sacrifice, whose singer Bruce Fitzhugh guested on "Sixteen," plus Oh, Sleeper, The Famine and Advent. It ended at Cornerstone Festival on July 5, 2008. The 45 Days film and the Live in Nashville album came out of that run.

Changes

In August 2009, Don Clark left to focus on his career in graphic design and his family. Luck also left, unable to juggle Demon Hunter with drumming for Relient K. Patrick Judge of The Showdown joined on lead guitar, along with Randy Torres, and Ryan Helm came in on rhythm guitar. Ryan Clark is now the only original member.

The World Is a Thorn to Extremist

The World Is a Thorn came out on March 9, 2010, and debuted at No. 39 on the Billboard 200, with guests including Björn "Speed" Strid of Soilwork. That year Demon Hunter supported As I Lay Dying, the first time they had ever toured as a support act.

True Defiance followed on April 10, 2012, reaching No. 36 and No. 2 on the Top Christian Albums chart. Jeremiah Scott had joined on rhythm guitar. The band toured South America and opened for In Flames in 2013. Extremist, released on March 18, 2014, debuted at No. 16, their highest chart debut.

Outlive, War and Peace, Exile

Outlive came out on March 31, 2017. On March 1, 2019, the band released two albums on the same day, War and Peace, and they went to No. 2 and No. 3 on the Billboard Christian Albums chart. An acoustic album, Songs of Death and Resurrection, followed in 2021.

Exile came out on October 28, 2022, on the band's own label, Weapons MFG. It featured a guitar solo from Judas Priest's Richie Faulkner and guest vocals from Tom S. Englund of Evergrey and Max Cavalera.

There Was a Light Here

After a run of standalone singles, the band released their twelfth album, There Was a Light Here, on September 12, 2025. In December 2025 they played South America with P.O.D. and Living Sacrifice. In 2026 they appeared at Welcome to Rockville, and on July 21 they announced a twentieth anniversary tour for Storm the Gates of Hell, with Wolves at the Gate and Bloodlines.

That August, Demon Hunter's company, Hyde Lane, sued Netflix for trademark infringement over KPop Demon Hunters, claiming the film and its tour had caused "substantial confusion." Hyde Lane registered the Demon Hunter trademark in 2022.

Riding no fences

Demon Hunter have never been vague about their faith. "When we officially started we wanted to be very bold about it," Ryan Clark said. Don Clark put it this way: "We're a Christian band. We're five dudes, we're all believers, we really don't want to ride the fence anymore." The band said Christian fans "respect that we don't walk the fence between a non-Christian and Christian band."

That clarity is a big part of why they matter. They got onto Headbangers Ball and Billboard's top 20 while saying exactly who they were, and twenty-five years in, they still say it.