Deep Thoughts...

Okay. Lettuce slow down for a moment, and ponder...

... what else? Demon Hunter.

Now, some people - my own mother is guilty of this and it was enough to place small doubt in me briefly - seem to jump to the conclusion that DH is the exact opposite of what they are - a light brightly shining in the darkness.

There are three immediate reasons I see for this:

1 - their genre. Come on, don't tell me you don't know anyone whom has a leery attitude when it comes to the metal genre of music. Same story with screaming in music.

2 - their logo/appearance. I personally love their logo - a demon head with a clear bullet wound in its forehead - because it's so original and different; plus, it is both subtle and extremely profound in the Christian sense. Some would assert, however that both that, and the fact that at least three out of five of the guys have their bodies quite tatted up (if you will) would obviously equal evil. Hmph.

And lastly,

3 - some of the lyrics. Listening to a certain line of quite a few of their songs out of context can often lead to misunderstandings. I see/hear that quite often in the songs themselves, too.

Heck, even they themselves have released a song dealing with authority figures that would go beyond openly condoning the music by outright trying to block kids (and by kids, I mostly mean teens) from exposure to such music. I show to you the second verse to said song, "A Thread of Light:"

You buried the chance in a self-righteous glance/So your sons and your daughters were safe./But your imperfect path/Is a heart made of glass,/And the world is a charming grenade.

See how bluntly they put the truth? Does that not strike you as refreshing? ;)

The whole song is extremely blunt and to the point. They even outright state the purpose of the band in the first verse.

Now granted, quite a few of they lyrics chosen are quite morbid in nature. Examples include:

- The chorus of "Thorns."

- "Everything Was White." All of it. (... no pun intended)

- The chorus and post-chorus (the only sung part) of "Our Faces Fall Apart."

- Break through the ribcage/And tear the heart out/Of everyone you love!

- Everything but the chorus and outro of "Infected."

- The whole meaning of "Carry Me Down."

And that's just to name a few.

At the same time, there are positive and strong lyrics as well. More examples:

- As demonstrated above, "A Thread of Light."

- The chorus of "Less Than Nothing."

- "Undying" is a good one, extremely positive and passionate.

- The bridge of "Grand Finale." So very, very beautiful and true.

- The rapid-fire prechorus of "A Broken Upper Hand." Yeah, boy!

- Won't bow to man/Won't bow to government/Won't trust a failed system of self-fulfilling lust.../

Again, just to name a few.

Now, most of this can be seen as a matter of opinion. It is all about perspective, and God, of course.

I leave you with this - a headscratcher as Ryan explains to us "A Thread of Light:"

"[Kids] can either be defined by worldly music, or by positive, Christ-centered music. Although some parents may hear our music and jump to the conclusion that we must condone evil because we have a heavy sound and the vocals can seem very abrasive, what they don’t know is that their kids dig deeper than that. Kids don’t stop at the appearance. They get into the music in a way that their parents could never imagine them doing. They learn about the band, meticulously read the lyrics, and they look to get something out of it. At an impressionable age, they may very well take to heart whatever it is they’re being told in a song. What we offer them is a Christian perspective. It’s just wrapped in a package that looks a little more aggressive than what you might be used to seeing in Christian music. And if you ask why we would appear that way, I would ask why your child is interested in listening to us. This kind of music can truly be a weapon against the spiritual warfare that kids face these days. I don’t want to knock other Christian artists, because they all have their place, but if we were speaking metaphorically, what kind of weapon would you call contemporary Christian pop, and what kind of weapon would you call Christian heavy metal?"

What do y'all think?

CZYA, yo.