As a band that has been around for about six years, you might expect a DVD for a band as big as Demon Hunter. However, instead of live footage from concerts, the band decided to show the recording process, releasing three editions of their new recording, Storm the Gates of Hell, with a regular edition, a fan edition, and an ultimate deluxe edition, complete with a small collectors' box. The DVD that is included will be

reviewed here, while you may check out the review for the regular edition's audio CD portion here.

The Storm the Gates of Hell DVD is simple, at best. It includes the short form music video for the hit single "Fading Away," and while you're watching it, the Demon Hunter logo pops up, and when you press on it, it goes to a three minute featurette on the making of the music video, something that isn't advertised to consumers. The DVD also includes a mess of about 140+ pictures of the band in the studio, a few on tour, and some press photos. However, a chunk (if not all) of the pictures had to be resized for viewing on a DVD player or computer, so many of them come out very grainy and blurry, ruining the picture. There's also no easy way to take the pictures off the DVD to use or print. The only way you can see them is to pop in the DVD.

The documentary is about eighteen minutes long, and seems to be just long enough for a recording DVD. Most bands and artists who have released new albums with DVDs, the documentaries have been short, sometimes less than ten minutes, and this length makes it worth it, for many people, especially fans. The documentary, entitled "Follow the Wolves," kind of gives a feel for what the band was going for with this new record. It's more like a call to arms, if anything, for Christians who are sick of seeing others who blindly follow the faith or just act like everyone else. Throughout the DVD, you will see that the band members have no shame whatsoever of the name of the record, and what it implies. The band goes on to talk about how the writing and recording process was different this time around, particularly with certain guitar and drum parts, mainly to make this record the best one yet. The highlight of what you will see as you watch the DVD is that these guys don't care what people think of them - they're Christians, and they won't back down from that.

The only other thing that could make the DVD possibly a bit disappointing, however, is that there's barely any live footage from recording. The DVD is full of interview sections, but there are only like three or four short little clips from the actual recording. Some bands put in partial takes of the vocals or the tracking process, while Demon Hunter just includes the same pictures that are shown in the photo gallery while they talk. It would have been nice to see a few takes of recording, and maybe some fun backstage tour footage, but the DVD is still done well, as is. Overall, if you're a die-hard DH fan, you'll likely want to pick up the Special Edition of the record, while most fans will likely pick up the regular album. The DVD might not be totally worth it, but the package as a whole is a great pick for any metal fan.

- Review date: 11/13/07; written by Justin Mabee