Demon Hunter


Demon Hunter vocalist Ryan Clark and his brother, guitarist Don, have been playing in bands together for years. They also work together as graphic designers with their own firm, so Ryan is not fretting over his brother's recent departure from their almost-decade-old band.

"It just happened, and we moved forward. It wasn't a weird decision," Clark told Noisecreep. "For [Don], it was a hard decision. He has a couple of kids and was the oldest member, and he has the design company, so it's hard to take off for tour and then come back and get work. My job situation when I come home is different. When he closes up shop, it's a scary thing. It got to be too much."

Musically speaking, Ryan wrote many Demon Hunter songs on his own and then would get together with his older sibling and write more together. His brother's exit merely meant that he was going to have to write more . "It's just more to handle," he said. "The dynamic is different. I have been in bands with him for 15 years, so not having him as a partner is different. But we have a tight knit group of guys in the band, and it's like a family atmosphere. We haven't played or toured since he's left, but it'll be fine."

Ryan isn't feeling any separation anxiety upon the release of 'The World is a Thorn,' though, because the pair's day jobs keep them linked. "We design together during the day, so I see him every day. It's not a big shock or moment where he is moving across the country or something."

As a result, Demon Hunter's music has always been more like Machine Head and Pantera than the metalcore category that many Solid State Records bands have been lumped into. "We're more like that '90s era, Roadrunner style stuff, like Machine Head, Sepultura, Fear Factory. Those bands had a dynamic that kept you wanting to listen," Clark said. "We like peaks and valleys in a record that are heartfelt and balls to the wall thrash. That's key in a record that stands the test of time."

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