Those of us who were there when the "Stronger Than Hell" Tour came to our city know that this was one of the best heavy metal tours of 2008. Fans of the hardcore metal group know that Demon Hunter is not always on the road and the "Stronger Than Hell Tour" would be their first in almost two years. The lineup also included the Christian metal forefathers Living Sacrifice, along with Oh Sleeper, The Famine, and Advent. Demon Hunter was given the opportunity to film their time with the some of the fans in selected cities as well as the entire concert they performed in Nashville, Tennessee. The ending result is a 3-disc DVD/CD set including the feature length documentary 45 Days, the entire concert from Nashville, and a compact disc of new original music featured from the documentary.
The introduction to the documentary is very boring and does not add anything unique other than close-up images and video of each band member before and during a concert performance. The film kicks in after the first five minutes when bass player Jon Dunn speaks about how enjoyable the tour is going to be and how honored he and the rest of the guys are to be on tour with Living Sacrifice. From that point onward, 45 Days becomes enjoyable to watch as the viewer gets to see testimonies from some of the fans, some of the difficulties and conflicts on the tour, and some additional pranks the musicians pulled on each other. Everything from a fan who needed a heart-transplant when he was six weeks old and a soldier in the Marines who was going through depression, to a family who lost a loved one are just some of the most touching and heartbreaking testimonies I have ever seen and heard. The DVD ends with Demon Hunter pulling these humorous pranks on the other bands during their last show and how those bands got their revenge.
The Live In Nashville, Tennessee DVD is what will make this release a definite purchase for die-hard fans of Demon Hunter. The live performances of several new songs such as "Storm The Gates Of Hell," "Sixteen," "Fading Away," "Carry Me Down" and a few old songs make the show very memorable. I was a little disappointed at the poor choices of camera angles that were primarily close-ups of vocalist Ryan Clark, and several establishing shots of the band with the camera on the right side of the stage. There are a few close-ups of Don Clark, Jon Dunn, and their fill-in guitarist Patrick Judge here and there as well as a few minor close-ups of the fans in the front row, but there is just not enough to give the viewer the feeling they are being placed in the middle of one great heavy metal concert. It was also a little disappointing to not see as much of Bruce Fitzhugh of Living Sacrifice during his performance with Demon Hunter on the song "Sixteen."
The 45 Days soundtrack is a mixture of very beautiful and very irritating dark music that will not be well-received by the fans. Overall, the 45 Days 3-disc set, as a whole is very good and will appeal the most to fans of the group and anyone who saw them on the "Stronger Than Hell Tour." Unless you are absolutely obsessed with each band member, it is recommended to hit the skip button on the 5-minute introduction to the documentary. The Nashville, Tennessee concert is professionally filmed, but is far from being perfect by anyone's standards. When all is said and done, true fans of Demon Hunter will need to make sure 45 Days is in their hardcore metal collection.
- Review date: 3/1/09, written by Fred Keel of Jesusfreakhideout.comRecord Label: Solid State Records
Original Music From The Film, 45 Days
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