Darkest Hour | |
|---|---|
 Darkest Hour performing in 2017 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Labels | |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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| Website | officialdarkesthour |
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Darkest Hour is an Americanmelodic death metal/metalcore band fromWashington, D.C., formed in 1995. Though failing to break through early in their tenure, the band has received acclaim for their albumsUndoing Ruin,Deliver Us, andThe Eternal Return.Deliver Us debuted at number 110 on theBillboard album charts, with sales of 6,600,[1] and their more recent effortThe Eternal Return garnered them an even higher position in theBillboard album charts at number 104.[2] Their albumGodless Prophets & the Migrant Flora charted at 42 on theBillboard 200, a peak for the band, and it marked a stylistic shift in the band's discography.[3]
Darkest Hour played their first show on September 23, 1995,[4] and initially consisted of vocalist John Henry, guitaristMike Schleibaum, drummer Matt Maben, and bassist Raul Mayorga.
The band released its firstEP titledThe Misanthrope in 1996 on a local label called Death Truck Records. In 1996, Darkest Hour cut a single titled "Paths of Despair" for East Coast Empire Records'The Harder They Come compilation. The song proceeds at a slower, grueling tempo in comparison to the up-beat tempo the band would come to be known for. In 1999, Darkest Hour released another EP titledThe Prophecy Fulfilled on another label called Art Monk Construction.
The addition of lead guitarist Fred Ziomek, bassist Billups Allen and drummer Ryan Parrish saw the band release their first full-lengthLPThe Mark of the Judas in 2000, on the now-defunct M.I.A. Records.
The Mark of the Judas was not widely promoted or distributed due to M.I.A. Records going out of business not long after the album's release.
Darkest Hour were soon picked up byVictory Records. Their label debut,So Sedated, So Secure, was released on August 7, 2001. Billups was then replaced by Paul Burnette and Ziomek left the band. The album was reissued by Victory on March 7, 2006, with new artwork, remixed audio, rerecorded vocals and bonus tracks.
The band continued to tour, with Schleibaum's longtime friend Mike Garrity filling in on lead guitar duties. Eventually, they accepted Parrish's old friend Kris Norris as the new lead guitarist, and then began to write their next record.
While Garrity was the guitarist, the band was arrested and jailed inRoland, Oklahoma for alleged marijuana charges, also for "illegally imported" beer and for an open beer can. They were fined $6000; Schleibaum was able to pay for himself, Burnette, and Garrity. Parrish and Henry had to stay for a couple of hours while the rest of the band had to get money to bail them out.[5]
Their third releaseHidden Hands of a Sadist Nation was released on May 20, 2003. Produced by well-renowned Swedish record producerFredrik Nordström, the album signaled a shift from the band's previousmetalcore style to a moremelodic death metal style. As a result, the album gained strong mainstream attention, allowing the band to perform atOzzfest 2004. Notably, the album contained political lyrics, with several songs criticizing American militarismpost-September 11. The album was re-issued by Victory on July 13, 2004, with a bonus song and an additional DVD containing bonus material.
Darkest Hour released their fourth full-length LPUndoing Ruin on June 28, 2005. The album was produced byDevin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad) at Greenhouse Studios inVancouver. The album was the band's first to enter theBillboard 200 charts, debuting at No. 138 with first week sales of 8,484.[6]
In the 2005 documentaryMetal: A Headbanger's Journey, Darkest Hour and a number of other bands includingShadows Fall,Lamb of God,Chimaira,Killswitch Engage,Unearth, andGod Forbid are all listed under the category "New Wave of American Metal" in the "metal genealogy chart".
In early 2007, the band was in Vancouver to work on their next record with Townsend. On March 7, 2007, Victory Records issued apress statement confirming the title of the album wasDeliver Us; it was released on July 10.[7]
In April 2008, Darkest Hour created aWashington Capitals fight song and a MySpace tribute page in support of the Capitals 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs run. The song "A Thousand Words to Say but One" was re-recorded with new lyrics and new solos into "Let's Go Caps!"[8][9]
In September 2008, it was reported onBlabbermouth.net that Kris Norris had left the band and would be pursuing producing routes and possibly a new band.[10] Not long after Norris' departure, they found replacement Mike "Lonestar" Carrigan. With Carrigan officially on board, the band headed back into the studio to write & record with producerBrian McTernan of Baltimore's Salad Days Studio.
The band's song "Demon(s)" is featured on the music gameGuitar Hero 5.
In March 2009, Darkest Hour began to record the new album,The Eternal Return, just before co-headlining (along withBleeding Through) theThrash and Burn European Tour 2009 in April and May.The Eternal Return was released on June 23, 2009, two weeks later than originally announced.[11] Darkest Hour then went on to play the 2009 Summer Slaughter Tour. They supportedTrivium for the first leg of the North American into the Mouth of Hell We March Tour.
In February 2010, Darkest Hour announced a new tour withDillinger Escape Plan,Iwrestledabearonce, andAnimals as Leaders.
In April 2010, Darkest Hour announced their signing toeOne Music after having been with Victory Records for a decade.[12] The new album will be produced bySoilwork guitaristPeter Wichers, who helped pioneer Swedishmelodic death metal and was a major influence on Darkest Hour.[13] In an August press release, the band described the new material as "the most emotional and melodic Darkest Hour album to date" and also said it "shares in that aggression withThe Eternal Return and pushes Darkest Hour beyond the unknown."[13]
In a new Metal Injection interview, Darkest Hour members Mike Schleibaum and Ryan Parrish revealed that the new record would be titledThe Human Romance, and it was officially released on February 22, 2011.[14]
On January 13, 2011, A new song entitled "Savor the Kill" was released ontoNoisecreep.[15]
On December 22, 2011, Darkest Hour announced that they have parted ways with longtime drummer Ryan Parrish. He was replaced by Timothy Java from Dead To Fall.
On June 6, 2012, Darkest Hour announced that bassist Paul Burnette would be amicably leaving the band to join Iron Reagan. Aaron Deal, who had toured with Darkest Hour in Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America was also announced as the new bassist.[16]
On February 5, 2013 the band posted on Facebook that they are currently in the pre-production phase for the new record.[17]
On April 16, 2013 the band announced that Travis Orbin, a seasoned touring musician and session drummer, would be joining the band and has been a part of the writing process of the untitled 8th studio album. On June 14, the band announced they had signed with Sumerian Records and implicated that they will be re-releasingThe Mark of the Judas in late 2013, as well as working on a new record.
Darkest Hour released their self-titled eighth studio album on August 5, 2014.
They played numerous special shows in various parts of the world in 2015 where they played Undoing Ruin in its entirety along with other fan favorite tracks, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of its release in 2005.
No longer contractually obligated with any record label, in early 2016 Darkest Hour launched anIndieGoGocrowdfunding campaign to help pay for their upcoming ninth studio album as well as their first ever full-length live DVD,Live at the Black Cat 2015, which was a special show where they celebrated the tenth anniversary ofUndoing Ruin. By March 14, 2016, the band had surpassed theirUS$50,000 goal by raising $67,707 from more than 1,200 fans. In their announcement of exceeding their goal, Darkest Hour said they could use the extra money earned to "enhance the artwork, produce a music video (or two), enlist a possible guest musician (or two), hire a world class producer, and lastly help fund enhanced coverage of the making of / behind the scenes action."[18]
The band recorded their ninth album at GodCity Studio withKurt Ballou ofConverge fame from September–October 2016. Commenting on the choice of producer, Schleibaum said, "We want bring the energetic, raw, emotion we exude live to tape this time. We love to jam and riff all day and we feel Kurt [Ballou]'s unique style of producing will complement this perfectly. Also, it doesn't hurt that we completely respect and trust him as both a friend and musician, meaning we feel this monumental task of bringing another Darkest Hour album to life will rest well in his hands."[19] While in the studio, the band announced they were aiming for a February 2017 release date and would be collaborating with former member Kris Norris on a few tracks. On working with his former band members, Norris commented: "When the guys contacted me about the idea of a collaboration, I was excited because it has been a really long time since I've worked with them all. I've stayed in touch with them over the past years and it's really awesome to see that they keep trying new things on every album and growing musically."[20][21]
Darkest Hour released their ninth studio album titledGodless Prophets & the Migrant Flora on March 10, 2017. Originally wanting to entirely self-fund and self-release the album, the band partnered withSouthern Lord Records—who released the vinyl edition of their debutThe Mark of the Judas in 2000—to complete the album's production and assist with distribution and marketing. Supporting tours began with a February–March 2017 US Tour with crossover thrash bandRingworm, Finnish grindcore bandRotten Sound, sludge metal bandTombs and Rivers of Nihil.[22][23]
On July 28, 2020, Darkest Hour announced that Mike "Lonestar" Carrigan had departed from the band and that "the next chapter starts now".[24]
On September 21, 2021, Darkest Hour announced that Nico Santora (formerly ofFallujah,Suicidal Tendencies,The Faceless and Lillake) would be touring with them on lead guitar.[25]
On November 14, 2023, the band released the title track of their upcoming tenth studio album,Perpetual Terminal, which was released on February 23, 2024.[26]
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The band's sound has been described as a blend ofmelodic death metal andmetalcore.[27]
They have stated that they are heavily influenced bySwedish death metal.[28] Guitarist Kris Norris said in an interview, "Well, put it this way – if you took an encyclopedia of metal, you could list just about every Scandinavian band as our influences! It's not really any one particular band; we wouldn't say that we're influenced by, say,In Flames orAt The Gates, it's every band from there."
Other influences include:Dark Tranquillity,[28]Minor Threat,Earth Crisis,Bad Brains,Black Flag,Van Halen,Government Issue,Scream,Shadows Fall,Entombed,Dismember,Sacrilege,The Crown,Ozzy Osbourne,Metallica,Megadeth,Slayer,Anthrax,Iron Maiden,Dream Theater,Carcass,Arch Enemy,[29]Sick of it All,Dead Kennedys,Soilwork,[30]Danzig,[31]Venom,Exodus,Discharge,Cro-Mags,Integrity,[32]Edge of Sanity,Mayhem,Emperor,Ulver,[33]Testament,Death Angel,Pantera, andCannibal Corpse.[34]
Darkest Hour's main guitar influences are:Zakk Wylde,Dimebag Darrell,James Hetfield,Dave Mustaine, andScott Ian.[29]
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| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [35] | US Heat. [35] | US Ind. [35] | ||
| 2000 | The Mark of the Judas
| — | — | — |
| 2001 | So Sedated, So Secure
| — | — | — |
| 2003 | Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation
| — | — | — |
| 2005 | Undoing Ruin
| 138 | 2 | 10 |
| 2007 | Deliver Us
| 110 | 1 | 14 |
| 2009 | The Eternal Return
| 104 | 1 | 16 |
| 2011 | The Human Romance
| 185 | 3 | 23 |
| 2014 | Darkest Hour
| 102 | — | 11[36] |
| 2017 | Godless Prophets & the Migrant Flora
| 42 | 1 | — |
| 2024 | Perpetual Terminal
| — | — | — |
| Year | Song | Appears on |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Nazi Punks Fuck Off"(Dead Kennedys cover) | Higher Voltage!: Another Brief History of Rock[37] |
| 2014 | "Spectrum"(Florence + The Machine cover) | Sumerian Ceremonials (Florence + The Sphinx)[38] |
| Year | Song | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "The Sadist Nation" | |
| 2004 | "Oklahoma" | |
| 2005 | "Convalescence" | Dale Resteghini |
| "Sound The Surrender" | Joseph Pattisall | |
| 2007 | "Demon(s)" | |
| "The Sadist Nation (Hidden Hands DVD Alternate Version)" | ||
| 2009 | "The Tides" (unreleased) | |
| 2011 | "Love As A Weapon" | Scott Hansen |
| "Your Everyday Disaster" | John Ryan Flaherty | |
| "Savor The Kill" | Ramon Boutviseth | |
| 2012 | "Severed Into Separates" | Mihaszna Film |
| 2014 | "Rapture In Exile" | Taylor Larson |
| "Rapture In Exile (Rehearsal Video)" | ||
| "The Misery We Make" | Taylor Larson | |
| "By The Starlight" | Mareesa Stertz | |
| 2018 | "Enter Oblivion" | John Henry[39] |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |