Despite their blunt name and icon of a demon with a bullet hole through its head, Demon Hunter isn't just any crazed death metal band. The Seattle-based quintet is a band on a mission, for Christ, that is. Demon Hunter, a famed alternative Christian metal group, has taken many twists and turns in band members and musical directions, ultimately focusing on a metallic but melodic heavy rock sound that has earned them a top spot on both the Heatseekers and Christian charts, as well as a significant fan base (which they call Hunters) across the country.Band mates and brothers Ryan and Don Clark founded Demon Hunter after experiencing the hardcore scene in Northern California, with the experience of previously establishing the metal Christian group Training for Utopia in the mid-‘90s. Training for Utopia was the precursor to what would become Demon Hunter's value, establishing the band around a need for defiance of the normal stereotypes of Christian heavy metal sounds. Eventually turning to Seattle and the mecca of heavy metal emerging on the Washington scene around that time, the Clark brothers founded Demon Hunter, recruiting drummer Jesse Sprinkle, bassist Joe Dunn and guitarist Kris McCaddon, all former band members of different rock groups.Going by the aliases Sgt. Serpent, Chuck Knuckles, Utah Biggs, Arm and John Gredal, Demon Hunter immediately released their self-titled debut album in 2002 under Solid State. The album pushed the band into the limelight, readying fans for their sophomore release, 2004's Summer of Darkness. Despite raving reviews and the group's first appearance on the Christian charts, Sprinkle soon left the band (to join Dead Poetic) and was replaced by Timothy Yogi Watts. Not so long after, McCaddon split from Demon Hunter and was replaced by former O.C. Supertones musician Ethan Luck. The new and improved band released their third album Triptych in 2005, their first to reach number one on the Heatseekers chart.