DEMON HUNTER Singer: 'All Different Styles Of Music Can Be Worshipful And Rooted In Christ'

Jackie A. Chapman of Christian Music Today recently conducted an interview with DEMON HUNTER lead singer and songwriter Ryan Clark. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Christian Music Today: How much overt spirituality do you put in your songs?

Clark: Teens and young people are bombarded with all kinds of worldly gratification and worldly solutions to everyday issues and problems. I think that even though it can be a taboo or shunned subject, the subject of spirituality will enter everyone's life — the question of what they believe to be true and how they deal with that question. Whether churched or not, offering youth the Christian perspective via church might not be enough to reach out and grab their attention. So we aim to reach them on their level in music without dumbing down the message, but instead aiming to understand them, their culture, and the situations they experience.

Christian Music Today: Do you feel that other Christian metal bands take such responsibility in their messages to young listeners?

Clark: I think there is a lack of responsibility in bands to back up what they talk about. It could even be said that there is a lack in how they word what they are talking about. Some bands have a clever way to mask Christianity using a poetic take on spirituality. I think that is a selfish way of writing and dealing with spirituality. I see no point in being a Christian band if you're not reaching out to people with a certain amount of blatancy.

I am all for bands giving people a message that they can hear for what it is, rather than being poetic or entirely vague, making listeners dive in and figure it out on their own if they want. I think people who have that poetic view in a Christian band take responsibility for granted and act in opposition to the whole idea of sharing a clear Christian message. Being rebellious or subversive as rock musicians and [coming in under the radar with a Christian message], I can understand that to a degree, but in some instances, it still strikes me as playing it safe. DEMON HUNTER is not a safe band.

Christian Music Today: Do you still run into misperceptions among Christians about what Christian metal represents?

Clark: We are faced with it on a daily basis and we answer every person that e-mails. We have a lot of stock answers for many questions but when it comes to something more specific, we send personal e-mails (especially to parents) to put them at ease. We're used to it and not jaded by it, and we're not going to stop answering.

Christian Music Today: Don't you get tired of defending the genre or the band?

Clark: We have all been in different bands for years, and have been a part of the Christian scene for over a decade. So yes, we've been through periods where we don't want to explain ourselves anymore. But after a while, we take a breath and realize that all it usually takes is giving someone insight into our world. Christian heavy metal is a paradox that doesn't seem to work for a lot of people. Many times, it simply takes explaining to those people that this music is used as a powerful tool for young people that gravitate towards heavy, passionate, aggressive music. There's a very small handful of people that continue to be skeptical after we talk with them; most of them seem to get it after we explain ourselves.

Christian Music Today: Do you ever consider that the music or artwork might be too dark sounding or too dark looking?

Clark: As sounds go, I don't think music can be inherently evil. The content and lyrics and what you propose to do with them make music evil. Certain chords on a guitar and the way something sounds do not make it evil. All different styles of music can be worshipful and rooted in Christ, [just as any style can be twisted for evil].

Read the entire interview at Christian Music Today.