Artist: Demon Hunter Album: Summer of Darkness Label: Solid State Records Rating: 7 out of 10

Coming from a band named Demon Hunter, the aptly-titled Summer of Darkness isn't quite as brutal as might be expected - but it's still tons heavier than most of what passes for (new) metal these days. Opener "Not Ready to Die" establishes the template for much of what's to come. On the album's first single, Demon Hunter delivers pounding, riff-based verses over which frontman Ryan Clark growls and roars, before segueing into a surprisingly-catchy chorus that could make this a "Headbanger's Ball" staple. "The Awakening" and "Through the Eyes of a Predator" follow the same formula, pairing metallic verses with strong choruses that effortlessly mix melodic and screamed vocals. Since before Demon Hunter even released their 2002 debut, the underground metal scene has been buzzing about the band, and it's easy to understand why. Under the guidance of scene veteran Clark (formerly of Solid State Records' Training for Utopia and Focal Point), Demon Hunter has become that rare group with the ability to deliver brutally-heavy music and well-written, memorable songs, rarely sacrificing one for the other. Occasionally, the combination does become a bit much, as when "Everything was White"'s driving, circle-pit-worthy verses lead to yet another melodic chorus. Sometimes, you wish the band would just keep on rocking; thankfully they do just that on a pair of tracks, the better of which is "Beheaded." That song - featuring the nearly-inhuman "singing" of Demon Hunter labelmate The Agony Scene's Mike Williams - never lets up, piling furious riffing atop double-time drums and the crazy dual-vocal assault of two of the scene's best screamers. Impressively, Demon Hunter can also move very capably in the other direction, as on "My Heartstrings Come Undone." A Linkin Park-ish beat-and-keyboard section introduces the track, which features picked guitars, clean vocals, and - of all things - a tambourine, but somehow it works together to craft a memorable song. The odd electronic element crops up every now and then throughout Summer , like on the techno beat-backed bridge of the aforementioned "Everything." And the echoey, intimate vocal delivered by Clark on "Our Faces Fall Apart" is reminiscent of nothing more than latter-day Depeche Mode. That song also features some of the singer's most impressive lyrics. "We are of the worst, the cursed, the desolate,/leaving every hope that we embrace," he intones bleakly. "I felt the tears of all your angels, so cold./ I saw the fall of all your children, I'm so cold." Though relentlessly dark, Demon Hunter's lyrics are definitely spiritual, and far more poetic than most of their peers' hate-filled diatribes. Lines like "I feel the death of our connection and the fading of light/ between the shards of sudden panic from choking on my life," are yet another element that sets the band apart. Overall, Summer is a bit long at 53 minutes and 13 tracks, a couple of which could easily have been trimmed to make the record even tighter. But it still holds up well because of Demon Hunter's solid mixture of melody and heaviness, which keeps the proceedings from becoming repetitive like even the best heavy records can. It should be fun to watch the band explore their metal roots further on future recordings. But it might be even more interesting to see what roads some of the other directions hinted at on Summer of Darkness take Demon Hunter down. - Todd Thatcher