Darkest Hour - Undoing Ruin

[Scott Weber]

Darkest Hour – Undoing Ruin
Release Date: June 28, 2005
Record Label: Victory Records


Before listening to Darkest Hour, I had quite the conundrum. How do I feel about this band? I mean, they’re on Victory, so I came in with a bias of some shitty screamo band trying to hop on the money making trend – eyeliner, girl jeans, the whole 10 yards. I knew Darkest Hour was a respected metal band, but with what Victory has been putting out these days, I didn’t know what to expect. But when I popped in the record, I was presented with in-your-face metal, no singing, no clichés. The fact is, before you listen to Darkest Hour, try and remember back when Victory was, well, predominately a hardcore label. Erase the biases, because the new Darkest Hour record is legit. Full of elaborate solos and dual guitar harmonies, this record is an excellent metal record – for the most part. Darkest Hour has more than their own share of weaknesses.

Darkest Hour is a strange album as far as progression goes. The weakest tracks are at the beginning of the record, as the music picks up more energy towards the end. The second track, “Convalescence,” is a fairly boring song with a monotonous and uninteresting chorus. Vocals are not Darkest Hour’s strongest suit, in fact they are a weak point of the band. The screams are a throaty and lack depth. They always seem to come across constricted and forced. The more melodic parts aren’t any better, and it really detracts from the aggression of the band. “This Will Outlive Us” starts off at a blazing tempo with a whirlwind of squealing guitars, and continues through the verse. The post-chorus provides a dancing guitar melody on top of breakneck drum beats, fusing metal and hardcore together in this awesome. Lyrics are suspect at times, but that’s to be expected from metal bands in general, a tad bit cheesy. Sound of Surrender is next, the strongest track on the record. Two minutes in, the song launches into an intricate fantasy metal type solo, and it’s amazing. I love it when bands rip into high pitched harmonizing solos, and Darkest Hour is full of them.

The instrumental track, Pathos, is only 1:34, but it is beautiful. 2 acoustic guitars with finger picking play on top of one another, and the picking patterns are awesome. It’s a good break from the nonstop shredding. After a few more short tracks, including the brutally hard “District Divided,” the album reaches another high point with the track “These Fevered Times.” Stuttered guitar lines drive the verse forward along with slightly cheesy lyrics again: “It hits, like a ton of bricks.” I know metal is never known for having the greatest lyrics, but overused colloquialisms and clichés show up a few too many times on this record. Fortunately, the music shines through as an accented solo staggers along double bass drums. The solos on this album are jaw-dropping at times, and there’s no doubt that Darkest Hour are incredible musicians.

While the music itself receives a 9, the vocals and lyrics drag this album down. A more brutal voice would be much better for Darkest Hour, instead it sounds like an amateur behind the microphone, screaming like it’s his first show. The lyrics will make you cringe at times, especially during the more melodic-oriented choruses, when the lyrics are especially prevalent. The production is too thin for this style of music as well, there needs to be more mids and there’s too much treble. Still, this is undoubtedly a great album, full of stellar musicianship and ripping solos. If you’re a fan of heavy metal, Darkest Hour’s new record is for you. If you’re not a fan of the genre, it might be wise to turn to a band like Unearth to introduce you to a more complete style of metal.

[FASSWcore]

this was still one of the best metal cd's of 2005...btbam's "alaska" takes the cake, but come on! these fevered times...soo good live..

[crazytoledo]

“Convalescence,” is a fairly boring song with a monotonous and uninteresting chorus. Vocals are not Darkest Hour’s strongest suit, in fact they are a weak point of the band"

You sir are an idiot.

Convalescence is one of the best songs of the year and Henry's vocals are right on, but there simply not 'core' enough for you.

[Scott Weber]

“Convalescence,” is a fairly boring song with a monotonous and uninteresting chorus. Vocals are not Darkest Hour’s strongest suit, in fact they are a weak point of the band"

You sir are an idiot.

Convalescence is one of the best songs of the year and Henry's vocals are right on, but there simply not 'core' enough for you.
Haha, keep talking shit dude. I enjoy Darkest Hour's previous releases, this one is seriously lacking, and I'm not alone in thinking the vocals are the weakest point of this band. I'd take the vocals for In Flames, Ion Dissonance, Dillinger Escape Plan, Bane, Zao, Disarmonia Mundi, or Shai Hulud over Darkest Hour. It's weak, especially on this record. They're far better on Mark of the Judas. Guess they aren't core enough for me, you're right. Nailed that one. /sarcasm.

[mogwaifearsatan]

This album is amazing. One of the best releases this year.

[brutusUbastard]

“Convalescence,” is a fairly boring song with a monotonous and uninteresting chorus. Vocals are not Darkest Hour’s strongest suit, in fact they are a weak point of the band"

You sir are an idiot.

Convalescence is one of the best songs of the year and Henry's vocals are right on, but there simply not 'core' enough for you.

you are an idiot. you write some of the worst reviews I have ever read. In fact they are the worst. You don't even give plausible reasons on why you hate something, you just state how much you think its a joke, as in your Finch review.

Don't even start to critique or criticize people who know how to write.

And the vocals are the weakest part of the band.

go back to punknews and take your dumbass posts with you

just to make you like even more of a idiot:
http://www.punknews.org/reviews.php?op=albumreview&id=4096

[Scott Weber]

...holy crap, that guy wrote that review?? That's soooo bad, I'm sorry man.

[brutusUbastard]

...holy crap, that guy wrote that review?? That's soooo bad, I'm sorry man.
yep i thought you would enjoy his idiocy. i actually found his site which supports his lack of intelligence in music even further. it's actually quite sad.

[TimeAsIdeology]

I'm usually in agreement with you man, but your vocal claim is way off base on this one. John Henry's vocals suit this record perfectly, and they sound absolutely no different from any previous albums, so don't say they were better on Mark Of The Judas.

Gabe from Ion Dissonance and Greg from DRP both have better voices, but none of the other vocalists really make for good comparisons. Especially Aaron from Bane and Geert/Chad of Hulud, they're hardcore singers, and they shout, Henry is a metal singer, and he screams. If he had a really deep voice, it wouldn't blend with the melodic undercurrents, and if he was more screechy, it would sound out of place completely. Finally, lyrics have never been a strong suit, but look at 'District Divided;'


"We are the expatriated
our fate cards have played us
neighbors displaced us
we’ve seen that these demographics are targets
shot down by the market
I’ve felt the wrath of the greedy
now complete with more monsters
I’ve seen the needs of a city completely ignored
surrounded by vultures
we are the sons and the daughters
expecting betrayal
neglecting out passions
we know your plans don’t include us
that’s why we’ve made our own destroyers of culture
insatiable their appetite
the gluttons who consumed their way to the top."

That's definitely a lot better than anything Haste The Day has ever written.

[lfdfforever]

this cd is ok

[Scott Weber]

I'm usually in agreement with you man, but your vocal claim is way off base on this one. John Henry's vocals suit this record perfectly, and they sound absolutely no different from any previous albums, so don't say they were better on Mark Of The Judas.

Gabe from Ion Dissonance and Greg from DRP both have better voices, but none of the other vocalists really make for good comparisons. Especially Aaron from Bane and Geert/Chad of Hulud, they're hardcore singers, and they shout, Henry is a metal singer, and he screams. If he had a really deep voice, it wouldn't blend with the melodic undercurrents, and if he was more screechy, it would sound out of place completely. Finally, lyrics have never been a strong suit, but look at 'District Divided;'


"We are the expatriated
our fate cards have played us
neighbors displaced us
we’ve seen that these demographics are targets
shot down by the market
I’ve felt the wrath of the greedy
now complete with more monsters
I’ve seen the needs of a city completely ignored
surrounded by vultures
we are the sons and the daughters
expecting betrayal
neglecting out passions
we know your plans don’t include us
that’s why we’ve made our own destroyers of culture
insatiable their appetite
the gluttons who consumed their way to the top."

That's definitely a lot better than anything Haste The Day has ever written.
Why does everyone always compare bands to Haste the Day just because I enjoy them? Did I say Haste the Day had amazing lyrics? Of course not, I've never said that. I think they're really catchy and I dig their sound. I'm sorry, did I just lose some "cred?" That's such a childish and immature thing to do. It proves that your argument is situational, which is furthered by the fact that you took one song and quoted lyrics from it, directly after admitting that the lyrics were not the strong suit of the band. It's not even about his screaming as far as the vocals go, it's about how it melds with the music. Maybe I was pulling the wrong comparisons out, but take a band like Children of Bodom, or In Flames, or The Haunted, where the voice carries some serious weight but still meshes well with the metal. Bottom line is, I would take any other Darkest Hour record over this one, and I would take his voice/production/music combination on previous efforts over this Darkest Hour release. I do think it sounds different, and maybe it's the fact that he attempts to be more melodic on this record and essentially fails. "It hits...like a ton of bricks..." Yuck. Also, I'm sure that you love this band dearly, so it's your duty to defend them, which I understand. I think his voice is weak. You may like it. I love Dan from Zao's voice, many others hate it. Personal preference is all it boils down to, and that's what this is, a review.

[TimeAsIdeology]

Why does everyone always compare bands to Haste the Day just because I enjoy them? Did I say Haste the Day had amazing lyrics? Of course not, I've never said that. I think they're really catchy and I dig their sound. I'm sorry, did I just lose some "cred?" That's such a childish and immature thing to do. It proves that your argument is situational, which is furthered by the fact that you took one song and quoted lyrics from it, directly after admitting that the lyrics were not the strong suit of the band. It's not even about his screaming as far as the vocals go, it's about how it melds with the music. Maybe I was pulling the wrong comparisons out, but take a band like Children of Bodom, or In Flames, or The Haunted, where the voice carries some serious weight but still meshes well with the metal. Bottom line is, I would take any other Darkest Hour record over this one, and I would take his voice/production/music combination on previous efforts over this Darkest Hour release. I do think it sounds different, and maybe it's the fact that he attempts to be more melodic on this record and essentially fails. "It hits...like a ton of bricks..." Yuck. Also, I'm sure that you love this band dearly, so it's your duty to defend them, which I understand. I think his voice is weak. You may like it. I love Dan from Zao's voice, many others hate it. Personal preference is all it boils down to, and that's what this is, a review.

Because Haste The Day and Darkest Hour are in a similar vein. That's why. It's not like you reviewed Copeland, and I made a comparison to them in your Darkest Hour review.

And who said anything about "cred?" Stop being so defensive. I just think that in terms of metal, it seems a bit off that HTD gets praised for their new record, whereas Darkest Hour supposedly recorded the worst album of their career in "Undoing Ruin."

Personal preference, I know, blah blah blah. Anyway, down to the meat of the argument here. Why can I not show an example of solid lyrics after saying they're not a strong suit? They're the weakest point of the band, but when you consider how good everything else is, that's not even insulting. I illustrated this by posting some lyrics that I found to be some of the best they've ever written, and they came from this album.

And to be honest, you're reallllly not doing yourself any favors here by refrencing Children Of Bodom and The Haunted. I don't find either of those vocalists to be engaging in the slighest, which is what a band like Darkest Hour needs. The whole raspy shriek wouldn't work for them, Henry's voice does. It's still got a lot of power, the music does, but it's extremely melodic in many instances, and his voice coalesces with that brilliantly. I can't fathom anyone saying this album is the weakest of their albums. I don't love the band or anything, as you're assuming, but they are one of the best metal bands in America today, and Undoing Ruin exemplifies why. It's downfall, if anything, is that it's not much different from previous releases at all, which is in pretty stark contrast to what you're saying.

[Scott Weber]

And to be honest, you're reallllly not doing yourself any favors here by refrencing Children Of Bodom and The Haunted. I don't find either of those vocalists to be engaging in the slighest, which is what a band like Darkest Hour needs. The whole raspy shriek wouldn't work for them, Henry's voice does. It's still got a lot of power, the music does, but it's extremely melodic in many instances, and his voice coalesces with that brilliantly. I can't fathom anyone saying this album is the weakest of their albums. I don't love the band or anything, as you're assuming, but they are one of the best metal bands in America today, and Undoing Ruin exemplifies why. It's downfall, if anything, is that it's not much different from previous releases at all, which is in pretty stark contrast to what you're saying.
That is where we will forever disagree. It is different than the others, those contain virtually no melody at all.

[Emopunkthrice]

I love Haste the day and Darkest hour, I also love the new haste the days singer old band

[fightfightfight]

This got a lower score than the new avenged sevenfold album? Unbe-fucking-lievable.

[XBurnedDesireX]

I understand where the review is coming from, but I dont agree with it 100%. This is a great CD that any fans of the genre will enjoy.

[crazytoledo]

Horray for referencing my 2nd review written...

And either way, Finch does suck, it doesnt need a worthy review because its obvious that Finch isn't even worthy of that.

[xdannyx]

I'll agree with both sides.
Crazy Toledo writes some pretty shitty reviews and does nothing but talk shit like a music elitist, or a know it all if you will, but i'll say that Darkest Hour has come up with a more than solid release, and the vocals are very strong. he isn't going for the tough guy metalcore voice, but his perfectly complements the thrashier tone of the music.

[dostoevsky]

The vocals remind me a little of Alexi Laiho.

[Rubbersoul87]

Masterpiece