Demon Hunter: Exile
Every Monday we drive over 2 hours for the kid’s music lessons. Sometimes we fill this time with audiobooks. Sometimes podcasts. Sometimes we just catch up on conversations. Last night was music and it had been a while since I listened to Demon Hunter’s album Exile straight through, so we put that on and screamed out.
Much of this album is counter-culture— specifically political and social media culture. Take Master, which screams:
You need a lesson in loyalty
No need to suffer alone
You violate your humanity
When you recoil away from the tone
If all you want is just a master
We could be everything you need
If flesh and bone is what you’re after
Then let the foolish take the lead
Drop your Jesus, Christian. If all you want is just a master, the world is more than willing to fulfill every need you have. Just follow the tone.
They tell me God is not enough for war
Take a lesser man and bleed for him
In the words of the band, this is a concept album “[s]et in the aftermath of civilized society’s collapse, the 12 songs examine modern life through the lens of a nonconformist, contemplating a life untethered.” Social media is killing us. Specifically algorithm-powered feeds. The algorithm wants engagement and extreme content gets engagement. In Ryan Clark’s words, “[e]ven when it seems people have pinpointed things like social media as destructive, the concept of abstaining from it is quickly excused away.”
How do I silence the world?
How do I live through the noise?
We gave you this voice
A freedom you don’t deserve
Resounding with all of the noise
Dying to strike a nerve
Whatever happened to indifference?
Whatever happened to divided views?
It reads a lot like intolerance
When every word that you write says
freedom is dead
I saw an extreme far Leftist calling for the guillotining of Republicans on Twitter a few weeks ago. When he was responded to with “what happened to tolerance?” his response was “who ever said I was tolerant?” The tolerance bullshit was just to ram through the only allowed views. Now the facade is coming down. Whatever happened to indifference? To divided views? If dissent is not allowed, then freedom is dead.
I am a longtime fan of Demon Hunter and this album is no different. Ryan Clark is a great songwriter, and a great singer, and this album is full of great riffs and great lyrics when you slow down and listen.