Source: Album Artwork
One of the many rad things about our scene is the fact that there are countless bands who have been around for ages, even though they might not have got to the size that most would associate with career musicians, and are able to do so thanks to the devotion of a small, fanatical minority who will support them through pretty much anything. Darkest Hour are now two decades and nine albums into their career, a feat that plenty of bands would give their bassist to achieve. They also managed to entirely crowdfund this album, in the end reaching around 170% of their intended goal for the funds. See what we mean about “fanatical”?
Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora is an album that shows zero signs of coming from a band whose members are now in their late 30s. Right from the opening of ‘Knife In The Safe Room‘ this album starts on 100mph and only lets up very occasionally to make sure you’re still breathing. Riff after riff after even heavier riff is blasted at you at a consistent speed and an even higher consistency of quality. The last couple of Darkest Hour albums were lauded as “not as good as they’ve done before” but die-hard fans are already deeming this album as on a par with Undoing Ruin and Deliver Us, two albums that defined both the band and the American melodic death metal/metalcore genre.
There’s no question that this is one of the best metal albums released at least this year, if not in the last few years. For an album that encompasses the sounds of Trap Them and At The Gates and In Flames and Nails to be made by men the age of Darkest Hour is commendable indeed, but it’s that age and experience that has given them the experience and craft skills to be able to make something like this.
Most of the lead guitar wankery is that Darkest Hour traded so highly in and that dominated a lot of their is stripped back on this album. There’s a lot more focus on low-down, chunky riffing and grooves than there is on proving that they’re better guitarists than Most People, though the collaboration of ex-guitarist Kris Norris is not lost on some of the solo work.
Not only is Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora a triumph for Darkest Hour, already being praised as one of their best albums ever and concrete proof that it isn’t age that makes a band go stale, it’s lack of creative juices, but also a triumph for heavy music in general in 2017.
