Rating: 9.5 / 10 Stars
DEMON HUNTER is: Ryan Clark (vocals), Patrick Judge (guitar), Jeremiah Scott (guitar), Jonathon “Jon” Dunn (bass), Timothy “Yogi” Watts (drums/percussion).
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REVIEW – DEMON HUNTER have never been a band confined to brutality. Beneath the crushing guitars, aggressive rhythms, and heavier side of their identity has always existed another weapon: melody. With Peace, the band did not simply soften its attack. They isolated that melodic instinct, gave it an entire album to breathe, and proved that emotional weight does not necessarily require musical violence.
Released March 1, 2019 through Solid State Records, Peace arrived as one half of the ambitious War / Peace dual-album project. Its companion, War, embraced DEMON HUNTER’s heavier and more aggressive tendencies, while Peace moved deliberately in the opposite direction. Hard rock, melodic metal, atmospheric textures, layered clean vocals, slower rhythms, and ballad-driven arrangements became the focus. The concept allowed two sides of the band that had always coexisted to stand independently, and Peace remains particularly interesting because nothing about its restraint feels like DEMON HUNTER abandoning who they are.
Instead, the album asks what happens when melody becomes the force driving everything else.
“More Than Bones” answers immediately. Spacey sounds and spoken word create an atmospheric entrance before a catchy guitar riff suddenly grabs hold. The transition works because the song does not rush toward its payoff. It lets the atmosphere establish itself and then brings in pounding rhythms and powerful vocals that immediately give the album momentum. For a record intended to represent the more melodic side of DEMON HUNTER, the opener still carries plenty of muscle. The difference is where that power is directed. Rather than overwhelming the listener, the heaviness supports a hook built to stay with you.
“I Don’t Believe You” slows things down without losing that physical quality. Its riff has the feel of something made for a raised fist and a room full of people singing together. There is weight underneath it, but the song’s greatest strength is how naturally it invites participation. That accessibility becomes one of Peace’s defining characteristics. These songs do not need relentless aggression to create impact. They use rhythm and melody to pull the listener closer.
“Loneliness” changes the emotional temperature again. There is a gothic character running through the guitar work, while the crashing rhythm underneath it gives the song enough force to keep the atmosphere from becoming fragile. The vocals are deep and soulful, carrying an emotional gravity that fits the darker musical surroundings. It is one of the places where Peace demonstrates that melodic does not automatically mean bright or comfortable. The album may be the softer counterpart to War, but there is still darkness everywhere.
That distinction becomes essential to understanding the record.
The title track, “Peace,” takes a more straightforward melodic-heavy approach. Its rhythm sticks almost immediately and continues digging deeper with every pass. DEMON HUNTER understand that simplicity can be just as effective as complexity when the right melody and rhythmic pattern meet, and the song becomes one of those tracks whose appeal grows from how naturally everything fits together. It is direct, memorable, and heavy enough to maintain the band’s identity without disturbing the mood the record has established.
Then “When The Devil Come” expands outward.
A majestic atmosphere seems to envelop the song before catchy guitars and emotionally charged vocals take control. The result feels larger without becoming unnecessarily bombastic. That sense of scale matters on Peace. Because the album is not constantly attempting to overpower the listener, moments like this are able to grow naturally. When the guitars open up or the vocals push harder emotionally, there is space around them for those movements to mean something.
“Time Only Takes” pulls the record back into a slower groove. Its rhythm does not attack so much as seep into you, eventually getting the body moving almost without permission. The song highlights another strength of the album: patience. DEMON HUNTER are willing to let a groove settle in rather than constantly searching for the next explosive moment. That confidence gives Peace a very different sense of movement from an album constructed around speed or aggression.
“Two Ways” takes that accessibility even further. This is the kind of song that makes you want to stand up, sing along, and sway with the riff. There is an effortless quality to the way the melody moves, and that immediacy never feels accidental. Peace repeatedly demonstrates just how strong DEMON HUNTER can be when they allow the hook itself to become the centerpiece rather than placing it between heavier sections.
That makes “Recuse Myself” especially effective when it arrives.
Bells chime, drums pound, the bass thumps underneath everything, and melodies begin flowing around an excellent sing-along vocal performance. There is more happening inside the arrangement than its accessibility initially suggests. Each element adds something to the atmosphere without crowding the others. The percussion gives the song weight, the bass provides movement, and the melodic layers give the vocals room to lift above them. It is one of the clearest examples of Peace finding strength through arrangement rather than sheer force.
“Bet My Life” reaches immediately for the heart with its melodic guitar work before a crunchier rhythm begins carrying the song forward. That contrast between vulnerability and weight is central to the entire record. DEMON HUNTER never completely disconnect melody from heaviness. Even when Peace is operating in its most accessible territory, there is still a sense that the heavier band responsible for War exists somewhere beneath the surface.
That connection is what prevents Peace from feeling like a side project masquerading under the DEMON HUNTER name.
The closing “Fear Is Not My Guide” strips the album toward something even more emotionally direct. Piano melodies seem to float through the arrangement while the vocals carry the listener away into imagination. After an album filled with guitars, rhythmic hooks, atmospheric weight, and big melodic choruses, ending with piano gives the record an entirely different kind of impact. There is no need for a final burst of aggression. The emotional resolution becomes enough.
It is an appropriate ending because Peace ultimately succeeds through restraint.
That does not mean the record lacks power. It means DEMON HUNTER redefine where that power comes from. A pounding rhythm can carry as much force as an all-out attack when it is placed correctly. A vocal melody can hit harder than another wall of distortion. A piano can provide the emotional climax that another breakdown could not. Peace understands those differences and uses them repeatedly.
The relationship with War makes the achievement even more interesting. Separating these approaches into two albums could have exposed weaknesses in either direction. A heavier DEMON HUNTER record might have suffered without enough melody, while a melodic record could have sounded incomplete without the aggression normally surrounding it. Instead, Peace demonstrates that this side of the band can stand completely on its own.
More importantly, it does not sound like DEMON HUNTER attempting to become somebody else.
The recognizable weight remains in the rhythm section. The darkness remains in the atmosphere. The emotional seriousness remains in the vocals. The guitars still have enough crunch to remind you exactly which band is playing. What changes is the balance. Melody is no longer something emerging from the heaviness; on Peace, the heaviness exists to serve the melody.
Years after its release, that distinction is what makes the album hold up.
“More Than Bones” still grabs with the transition from atmosphere into that infectious riff. “I Don’t Believe You” still feels made for fists in the air. “Loneliness” carries its gothic darkness. “Peace” plants a rhythm in your head that refuses to leave. “When The Devil Come” surrounds the listener with atmosphere and emotion. “Time Only Takes” settles into the body. “Two Ways” begs to be sung. “Recuse Myself” layers bells, rhythm, bass, and melody into one of the album’s most engaging combinations. “Bet My Life” moves from heartfelt guitars into crunch, and “Fear Is Not My Guide” closes everything by allowing piano and voice to carry the final emotional weight.
The genius of Peace is not that DEMON HUNTER proved they could make a softer album. Their catalog had already shown they possessed that ability.
What Peace proved was that the band’s melodic side never needed the heavier material as a crutch.
Placed beside the aggression of War, the album represented one half of a deliberately divided identity. Heard on its own, however, Peace feels complete. It is melodic without becoming lightweight, accessible without sacrificing character, emotional without becoming overly sentimental, and restrained without ever feeling powerless.
DEMON HUNTER called the album Peace, but there is still plenty of weight beneath its surface. The difference is that instead of beating the listener into submission, these songs get inside, take hold, and stay there.
Sometimes the quieter weapon cuts deeper.
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