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May 17, 2012 |
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01. With A Thousand Words To Say But One
02. Convalescence
03. This Will Outlive Us
04. Sound The Surrender
05. Pathos
06. Low
07. Ethos
08. District Divided
09. These Fevered Times
10. Paradise
11. Tranquil
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Now this is what I like; an album that arrives with little or no fanfare whatsoever, yet which still manages to blow my frikkin' head off regardless - waaayyy above and beyond my initial hopes and expectations! The masterpiece in question is of course none other than DARKEST HOUR's latest release 'Undoing Ruin' out now on Victory Records. And what a release it is! Formed in 1995 in Virginia, DARKEST HOUR (John Henry/vox, Ryan Parrish/drums, Paul Burnette/bass, Kris Norris/guitar, and Mike Schleibaum/guitar) are well-known within underground Hardcore/Metalcore circles as a force to be reckoned with. Previous releases such as the 1999 debut 'The Prophecy Fulfilled', as well as sophomore efforts 'The Mark Of the Judas' ('00), 'So Sedated, So Secure' ('01), and the ferocious, watershed 'Hidden Hands Of A Sadist Nation' ('03), (as well as a couple of split EPs with fellow Hardcore stalwarts DAWNCORE and GROUND ZERO)
have cemented DH as both progenitors and forward-thinking mainstays of the burdgeoning U.S. Metalcore (in a nutshell: Hardcore fused with Metal leads and song constructs - as if you didn't know by now!) scene of the last few years. Often - IMO - erroneously lumped in with the world of East Coast Hardcore, DH are to my bruised and battered ears more truly at home within the sonic confines of the Swedish Gothenburg sound pioneered by the likes of AT THE GATES, IN FLAMES, DARK TRANQUILLITY, and SOILWORK amongst others. While the band's sound is definitely rooted in the street-level, urbanized aggression of Hardcore, it is within this wintry and melodically riff-blown realm of Scandinavian purpose and intent that they really kick off their workboots and put up their feet for the evening. Furthermore, they do so with a style, hunger, and force that puts the more recent work of many of their influences to shame.
'Undoing Ruin' essentially condenses and crystallizes this base sonic template, culminating in a hit-'em-hard-and-get-the-hell-out! Blitzkrieg assault of bludgeoning riffs, soaring, hook-laden leads, snarling, feroicious vox, and pounding, cerebral aggression that is just so well assembled and presented that I'm hard-pressed upon the completion of the end track not to hit the 'Play' button and ride the whirlwind again! Really, it is just that damned good. A certain feeling permeates this entire record...a vibe of...I dunno...spontaneous energy that tells me this must have been a blast to write and record. Of course I could be wrong, but really, this just oozes with energy, enthusiasm, heart, and an unmistakable sense of unpremeditated creativity that was simply allowed to breathe and do its intangible 'thing' with glorious results. If I were to offer any kind of comparative whatsoever I couldn't do much better than to say that 'Undoing Ruin' manages to distill,
resurrect and revitalize the long-thought-gone essence of albums like 'Slaughter Of the Soul', 'Whoracle', and 'The Chainheart Machine', all the while managing to sound fresh and original in the process. Add to this a sterling production job c/o none other than Vancouver's own home-town-hero Devin Townsend of SYL-fame (whose influence here doubtless had a hand in the overall sense of driving melody and raw, emotive aggression at play on many tracks) and I honestly don't know what more I can say to convince you guys out there reading this of what a great, great album 'Undoing Ruin' really is! Faves would include opener 'With A Thousand Words To Say But One', mosh-worthy anthem 'Convalescence', the brilliant 'Sound The Surrender’ with its addictive leads, the acoustic interlude of 'Pathos', and brick-to-the-face pounder 'District Divided', although at the end of the day, the whole album shines.
As I think I've said in the past; forget Hardcore. Forget Metalcore. Forget 'Core' period. Those are just silly media-generated labels. The simple fact of the matter is that DARKEST HOUR are a fantastic 'Metal' band playing modern, forward-thinking Heavy Metal with passion, virtuosity, and most importantly...purpose. Just being mad at the world isn't enough anymore in my book. I get the feeling that DH would probably agree, as evidenced by the music on 'Undoing Ruin' which betrays a definite depth of thought that shines through in the simple, yet infinitely layered rays of shimmering melody, sharp-as-a-straight-razor riffs, and forceful, yet directed and controlled-like-a-judo-kick aggression, all of which combines to create memorable and meaningful extremity of the highest order. Inarguably rousing, pummeling, transcendent, and yes...enjoyable stuff indeed.
A definite wake-up call to the hordes of 'Core' imitators currently grasping for that elusive gold ring. To them I can only say 'Don't bother'. DARKEST HOUR already have a firm grasp upon its gleaming contours and I don't think they're about to let it go anytime soon.
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