The Triptych

So infrequent, in fact, that an '80s group as lame as Stryper is still perceived as the defining Christian metal band (Creed don't count since they vehemently refuted any Christian ties, even while being shamelessly marketed to that market), nearly twenty years after their demise. Of course there's been no shortage of candidates vying for that dubious honor in the interim, and among the hopefuls to emerge in the early 2000s, arguably only Underoath have shown greater commercial appeal than the aptly named Demon Hunter. 2006's The Triptych is the Seattle natives' third opus, and it finds them investigating alternate styles of metallic expression with a sense of freedom they'd surely never dare question their religious beliefs with.