Demon Hunter – On My Side

Christian hard rock and metal band Demon Hunter became active in 2000, releasing ten albums during their two-decade run.  These include:

• Demon Hunter (2002);
• Summer of Darkness (2004);
• The Triptych (2005);
• Storm the Gates of Hell (2007);
• The World Is a Thorn (2010);
• True Defiance (2012);
• Extremist (2014);
• Outlive (2017);
• War (2019); and
• Peace (2019).

Though I am unaware of any accolades or awards for their work, they received their 15 minutes of fame in 2013, where the US Military used their music as part of US interrogations during President Bush’s war in Iraq without Demon Hunter’s knowledge or consent.  Demon Hunter sent the US military patches to wear, one of which wore one during a raid on Bid Laden.

When you’re finished with this review, check out my work on More Than Bones.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Demon-hunter-on-my-side-lyrics.

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1. What message does the song communicate?

Demon Hunter’s main message is best understood within the context of 1 Corinthians 15:50-57.  Rather than placing their trust in themselves, where their mortal, fleshy bodies sin, they chose a “new design”: probably faith in Jesus given that their sin-debt is gone.  It is not as clear as I would like; However, I cannot find a better explanation.  Therefore, I will not penalize Demon Hunter for their vagueness.

His Holy Spirit gives Demon Hunter ammo to fight sin before they die.  Awaiting Christ’s second coming, they recognize that the demons are gone, no longer tempting them to sin.

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

All of these lyrics are Biblical.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1-4: Demon Hunter waits and waits for enemy activity, including that of devils.  In tongue in cheek fashion, their only “enemy” is time.  Given the lyrics in Bridge, this likely references the waiting period after physical death and before Christ’s second coming, where our immaterial selves, separated from our physical bodies, awaits the shout of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

Lines 5 and 6: In a state of physical death, awaiting Christ’s return, it should not surprise us that Demon Hunter would not detect demonic activity!

Line 7: Good for Demon Hunter!  After all, the sum of their hearts is deceit and wickedness (Jeremiah 17:9).

Line 8: A vague reference to Demon Hunter’s faith in Christ (1 Corinthians 16:13, 2 Corinthians 1:24, Ephesians 6:11, Philippians 1:27, Philippians 4:1, Colossians 1:23, 2 Thessalonians 2:15, Hebrews 3:6, Hebrews 3:14, Hebrews 4:14, Hebrews 6:11, Hebrews 10:23, and 1 Peter 5:9).

[Chorus]

Lines 1-3: References 1 Corinthians 15:54-57, where the last enemy, death, has no power over Demon Hunter.  Jesus has victory over death (Isaiah 25:8, Hosea 13:14, Luke 20:35-36, 1 Corinthians 15:24-26, 1 Corinthians 15:55-57, 2 Timothy 1:10, and Hebrews 2:14).

Line 4: Repeats line 2.

Line 5: In what sense is death on Demon Hunter’s side?  Bridge addresses this line.

[Verse 2]

Lines 1-6: A vague reference to the Holy Spirit, who lives inside Demon Hunter (Acts 6:5, Romans 8:9-11, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:16-19, Galatians 4:6, Ephesians 5:18, and 2 Timothy 1:14) who helps them escape temptation and sin (1 Corinthians 10:13, 2 Thessalonians 3:3, 2 Timothy 4:18, 2 Peter 2:9, and 1 John 1:9).

[Bridge]

Lines 1-3: Given the earlier reference to 1 Corinthians 15 in Chorus, if we go a few verses back, in 1 Corinthians 15:50-54, the trumpets will sound and Demon Hunter’s mortal, flesh, perishable bodies will inherit immortal, spiritual, imperishable bodies.  This gives context to Demon Hunter’s line “death is on my side”, referencing separation from their physical bodies by which the Apostle Paul writes “death is swallowed up in victory” and “O death, where is your sting?”.

Line 4: Demon Hunter is free from the debt of sin (Colossians 2:14).

Lines 5 and 6: Another reference to 1 Corinthians 15:54-57.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

It’s difficult to discern the unbeliever’s interpretation of these lyrics.  These words are thick with Christianese, requiring deep study to comprehend its message.  Without the name of God or other obvious references to Christianity, I find it difficult to conclude that those outside the camp of Christ will think it’s Christian, unless:

1. They know that Demon Hunter are Christians, or
2. They heard the phrase “O death, where is your victory, O death, where is your sting?”

Outside of these two possibilities, I would imagine that unbelievers would be highly confused and confounded, serving as a back-handed compliment to Demon Hunter’s creativity, care, and depth offered to Christians.

Score: 2/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God that Demon Hunter indirectly expresses their faith in Christ, who defeated death and will raise them up when He comes again.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Demon Hunter’s On My Side is deep and profound.  In much the same manner as the parables of Jesus, whose words were not understood by unbelievers without explanation, Demon Hunter expresses faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit’s role in resisting sin, Christ’s payment for our sin-debt, the transformation of physical, mortal bodies to imperishable, spiritual bodies, and death’s inability to penetrate using language that confounds those outside the camp of Christ.  All of these concepts bring glory to God.

Though inspirational, I cannot recommend this song for corporate worship.  It’s more a song that spits in the face of death than praises the King of kings.

Final Score: 8.5/10

Artist Info

Track: On My Side (listen to the song)

Artist: Demon Hunter

Album: War

Genre: Heavy Metal

Release Year: 2018

Duration: 4:04

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Updates:

03/24/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.