Darkest Hour – The Human Romance

Releasedate: 07-03-2011; Label: Century Media
By: Elvira Visser

Darkest Hour is an in Washington, DC-based band that now presents their seventh album “The Human Romance” What they say themselves about the album is: “Thrash metal has distinct things that make it thrash,” Schleibaum said. “But we bring in some deeper emotional stuff into the thrash sound, and we take both Swedish metal and American metal influence. Sometimes it even sounds like Explosions In The Sky. There is some melancholy, but it’s bigger.”

What makes me smile is the Scandinavian melancholic doom intro, it will make the Darkest Hour fans wonder if they put on the right CD. However it creates a certain mood and I do think it fits the album. It comes back at the 10 minute instrumental song “Terra Solaris”, you simply gotta love this track. It is hard to judge bands that have been around for years delivering good albums. The only thing what can be said about this album in a negative way is not even negative per se. It is Darkest Hour how you know them. The album is varied, contains some kick ass tracks and the sound is mixed very well. They only thing possible to say it that it is nothing new. All is as it ought to be: Darkest Hour. Trash with deathcore influences while flirting with the scandinavian melancholy. A great album. Peter Wichers from Soilwork delivered great work in keeping the rough sound while the band aimed a bit more on melody.

Line-Up:
John Henry – Vocals
Mike Schleibaum – Guitars
Mike “Lonestar” Carrigan Theobald – Guitars
Paul Burnette – Bass
Ryan Parrish – Drums

Tracklist: 01. Terra Noctunus 02. The World Engulfed in Flames 03. Savor the Kill 04. Man & Swine 05. Love as a Weapon 06. Your Everyday Disaster 07. Violent By Nature 08. Purgatory 09. Severed into Separates 10. Wound 11. Terra Solaris 12. Beyond the Live you know 13. Hierarchy of Heathens

Links:
Darkest Hour MySpace
Darkest Hour Official