They’ve been towing the line for almost 20 years now, with their debut full-length, The Mark Of Judas, surfacing in 2000. But the Washington D.C quintet known as Darkest Hour have a new self-titled album, a new line-up and a new sound in the hope of propelling them into the spotlight. Could this finally be their time?
With enough beef in their riffs to make a lovely dinner, the album begins with ‘Wasteland‘. They wear their old school influences for all to see; high-pitched guitar solos, plodding bass lines and throaty chants. But in mere seconds, ‘Rapture In Exile‘ offers a sudden shift in sound. With the addition of speedy bass drum, juicy riffs and a song structure to keep you guessing, we find ourselves standing to attention.
When the album swiftly flows into ‘Misery We Make‘, it could even sound like a Paramore track opening. The addition of clean vocals helps them towards their mainstream goal – and it actually seems to work. ‘Infinite Eyes‘ works well too – the non-shouty lyrics sound a tad too polished for this song – but in an ages where Bury Tomorrow are rising royalty, their sound could really capture the attention of today’s listeners.
‘Futurist‘, however, is a step too far. The musicianship is on point, but their vocal experimentation here just doesn’t work in their favour – it’s just a bit cheesy for a previous melodic death metal troupe. As ‘Anti-Axis‘ rears its head, the distorted vocal production offers more interest, and the ratio of grit versus silk is better.
Then all of a sudden comes another shift, namely ‘By The Starlight‘. Featuring female vocals from DRÆMINGS, the start is slow. But once we reach the meatiest part of their first single of the album, it grows on you and you’ll find yourself having a little headbang and remembering the days of Evanescence. Meanwhile, ‘The Goddess Figure‘ opener sounds a bit too similar to Limp Bizkit‘s rendition ‘Behind Blue Eyes‘, but again, the song in its entirety is full of punch.
A violin-led opening earmarks aptly-named ‘Departure‘ as the last song of the album. With lush orchestration still in the background, there is great potential, but again the simplistic clean vocals ruin what could have been a raw and knuckle-clenching album closer.
This is definitely an album we would listen to again, and if this review is anything to go by, Darkest Hour may have a chance to do well for themselves equipped with this new material. That said, we must ask if this is the music they truly believe in making – otherwise, what’s the point?
