Christian metal in the early 2000s was mostly a Tooth & Nail and Solid State Records affair, and Demon Hunter, started in Seattle by brothers Ryan and Don Clark, became one of that scene's longest runners. Their self-titled debut came out in 2002. By the band's own account, Summer of Darkness got "Not Ready to Die" onto MTV2 and put a song on the Resident Evil: Apocalypse soundtrack next to Slipknot and The Cure. Later they went bigger: True Defiance in 2012 reached Billboard's top 40, and in 2019 they released two full albums on the same day, War and Peace. Ryan Clark is still the frontman and main songwriter, and There Was a Light Here arrived in 2025.
In 2026 the band toured for the 20th anniversary of Storm the Gates of Hell. They also took a much bigger target to court. Under their company Hyde Lane, they sued Netflix and AEG Presents for trademark infringement over KPop Demon Hunters and its planned arena tour. In the filing they described a fan who asked for a refund after spending $500 on Demon Hunter tickets for his five- and six-year-old daughters. Netflix called the claims "without merit."