Darkest Hour – The Human Romance
Since my last review (Hordak), I have been in a bit of a perpetual state of mourning for the metalcore genre. After I had finished, I desperately searched for some new releases which could counteract the funk. I furiously searched around, like a lost child trying to find their mother in the middle of a crowded mall, for something new and well-done. Apparently, my cries were heard, and I was given a copy of Darkest Hour’s latest album, The Human Romance. I instantly thought to myself, “This is it. If Darkest Hour can’t save me from my crippling unbelief of metalcore, then no one can.”
Darkest Hour is one of those bands which if you do not know of them, you need to. Formed back in 1995, these D.C. natives failed to break into mainstream metal until their release of Undoing Ruin back in 2005. Personally, the group was one of my first loves in heavy music—I remember watching the video to “Convalescence” on Headbanger’s Ball, and my parents subsequently not allowing me to purchase the album due to the band’s (not so) suggestive name. Fast forward to 2009, and Darkest Hour is a staple in any metalcore-lover’s diet. With two more solid (but similar) releases under their belts (including one of my all-time favorite albums, Deliver Us), many people, including myself, thought that it was time for them to expand out of the box with their next release.
The Human Romance kicks off with an intro track that bothers me less than usual, due to the fact that the album is a strong 12 tracks long. “The World Engulfed In Flames” follows, and especially recognizable are John Henry’s signature coarse vocals. His very tonal style of screaming is very easy to sing along to, adding another rare dimension to his performance. Also noticeable is the very provocative and aggressive tone of the album especially when compared to The Eternal Return. According to guitarist Mike Schleibaum, this was intentional. He explains that “The Eternal Return was written during a very dark, bleak time for the band and I think that record matches that in both tone and character. Our vision was for it to be an in-your-face, no-frills aggressive assault. [The Human Romance] shares in that aggression and pushes Darkest Hour beyond the unknown.”
Let’s talk instruments. Guitarists Mike Schleibaum and Michael “Lonestar” Carrigan both put on respectable performances throughout. Their riffs are rough and full, and particularly attractive is the diverse soloing heard on the record. “Savor The Kill” sports a soaring, powerful ballad-esque solo while “Man And Swine” provides a hefty dose of harmonized soloing reminiscent of Avenged Sevenfold and Hell Within. Finally, “Your Everyday Disaster” features a neck-breaking, classic thrash-influenced solo complete with dive-bombs and loads of tapping. There’s even a guest solo by the illustrious Tosin Abasi of Animals As Leaders. But while their fretwork is admirable, any longtime fan of the band (or the metalcore genre, for that matter) will have undoubtedly heard the style before. The galloping chugs and the intensive use of string-skipping techniques—it’s all there. Similar is the drumming, courtesy of Ryan Parrish. All of the instrumentals are excellent and easily enjoyable, but rarely stand out as being groundbreaking.
This is the sole problem with The Human Romance. To me, the album sounds like The Eternal Return Volume 2. Darkest Hour has undoubtedly progressed as a band, and can still make very good music, but it’s the same ol’ stuff. While that is not necessarily a bad thing, it is a bit exhausting. One cannot stress enough that The Human Romance is not suffering from songwriting issues, or bad production, or even boring sound. It is simply an album that takes something that’s been done many times before, and still does a good job at personalizing that thing without venturing into conceptual territory. The Human Romance is not the next genre-revolutionizing work, but it’s still a damn good try.
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32 Comments
February 21st, 2011 at 6:30 pm
Darkest Hour are not a metalcore band. Far more melodic death metal, particularly with this album. The guitar tone and overall production (produced by Peter Wichers) is very reminiscent of mid-era In Flames, and the material is much closer to Undoing Ruin, compared to The Eternal Return which gave off a very raw and heavy vibe, ala Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation.
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faust replied:
February 22nd, 2011 at 1:13 pm
Agree with Plasma. I'm happy with this record. The last one didn't do much for me. Glad to see the return of groovy, catchy riffs and distinguishable, memorable songs.. would have liked some more complex soloing though. My score is a 4.
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February 21st, 2011 at 7:07 pm
Hopefully this will be in the mail tomorrow. Darkest Hour are one of my favorite bands and they have yet to release an album that I didn't absolutely love.
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Anthony Gannaio replied:
February 21st, 2011 at 7:08 pm
Longtime fans will love this. I love it. It's just nothing new.
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Mike replied:
February 21st, 2011 at 7:37 pm
It sounds like Darkest Hour!
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Anthony Gannaio replied:
February 21st, 2011 at 7:42 pm
Uh….yes Mike. It does. Lol.
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February 21st, 2011 at 8:14 pm
Stoked for this. Savor the Kill is a killer song. Great review!
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Anthony Gannaio replied:
February 22nd, 2011 at 9:31 pm
Thanks mate. And yes, I love that track. Solo is tasty too.
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Gabriel Pio replied:
February 22nd, 2011 at 10:31 pm
Plus I really like the album art.
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February 22nd, 2011 at 2:46 am
Pre-ordered this, hopefully I'll get it this week. I won't listen to it until I can do so in it's entirety, except for Savor the Kill obviously. I pray that your review is wrong, which I am leaning towards since you have compared A Darkest Hour solo to that of Avenged Sevenfold. Despicable.
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Anthony Gannaio replied:
February 22nd, 2011 at 9:28 pm
Old A7X, my B. When they were, you know, good.
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arson714 replied:
February 23rd, 2011 at 1:47 am
Nope, no clue when that was.
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February 22nd, 2011 at 11:42 am
I think this is completely different then The Eternal Return, which was a throwback to their older style. I love all of Darkest Hours albums but I'm more of a fan of their more Melodeath style like on Deliver Us and Undoing Ruin then their earlier Thrashy-hardcore stuff. So this is right up my alley. The best songs on the album are most certainly Savor the Kill, Severed into Separates, The World Engulfed In Flames and Purgatory. Love the riffs. Very very top notch album from a top notch band.
Good review Anthony. I dont think that you should have tacked off points for not going out of the box on this one tho. Each album is different in its own accord tho, slightly different feels while still in a way that is Darkest Hour. They have found a balance IMO. Its a risk/reward thing with metal nowadays. Stay too stagnant, people bash you for that. Go too far out of the box and change up your sound too much, you piss fans off and run the risk of getting called a "sell-out". So im happy that Darkest Hour has found a way to please most critics and fans. Wouldn't you agree??
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February 22nd, 2011 at 1:01 pm
This is most definitely their most melodic stuff to date. The guitars are waaaaay more expansive than anything they've done previously and, although they give the album a definite style all of it's own, they kind of detract from the overall kick in the teeth that you'd associate with Darkest Hour. 'Wound' for instance is just plain naff – no, it is. But at least it's not all guitar noodling. I reviewed this for another website so I've had it for a bit and I have to say “Purgatory” is a, well, I described it as a spinning, snorting, ground-pawing bull in a china shop. Maybe it's a grower, eh? 3.0, maybe 3.5 at a push? Anthony, I reckon you got it about right.
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February 22nd, 2011 at 3:33 pm
A DH review without any mention of Kris Norris? God, thank you so much.
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charlie replied:
February 22nd, 2011 at 4:15 pm
why would he mention Kris Norris? he's not in the band anymore.
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Paradise Lost replied:
February 22nd, 2011 at 5:21 pm
maybe cause DH is still suffering without him?
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charlie replied:
February 22nd, 2011 at 6:06 pm
Darkest Hour was fine before Kris Norris got there and they were fine when he left. But it's not a coincidence that two of their best albums, in many fans eyes, were Undoing Ruin and Deliver Us, which both featured Norris. A lot of people loved Hidden Hands and didn't like the transition into a more thrash oriented style though.
I'm not sure how much of that style is actually Norris on those two albums (his solo project is shockingly good though and is more likened to those two albums) but he's a great guitarist and I do think that the songwriting on those two albums (including the solos) were better than what they've done recently.
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Anthony Gannaio replied:
February 22nd, 2011 at 9:29 pm
I actually was so sick of reading about him, I intentionally didn't talk about him.
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February 22nd, 2011 at 4:24 pm
I agree with the 3.5 and I might actually say that it's more worthy of a 3. It's not bad, but it's nowhere near as good as Undoing Ruin or Deliver Us, especially in terms of the songwriting. I thought 90% of the chorus sections featured on this album were pretty damn boring, to be honest. That's my biggest complaint.
Lack of originality is a given, they're not a band that's going to branch out too much but they're damn good at what they do. That being said, I couldn't get into this album because most of the songs built up to a pretty blah chorus. There were some good solos, some good riffs but a lack of atmosphere (which was my primary complaint of The Eternal Return) and a lack of good chorus sections make this one a bit of a letdown for me.
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Anthony Gannaio replied:
February 22nd, 2011 at 9:29 pm
A solid argument. Thanks for commenting!
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February 22nd, 2011 at 5:49 pm
I haven't really been able to ever get into these guys. I tried way back with Hidden Hands… but there's just something missing from their sound for me. Great review though!
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Anthony Gannaio replied:
February 22nd, 2011 at 9:30 pm
Have you listened to "Deliver Us"? Might want to give it a try if you haven't.
And thank you!
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February 22nd, 2011 at 6:21 pm
Hey everyone! Thanks for taking the time to comment. I'm actually bed-ridden with a sinus infection today, so sorry for the late response.
Anyways, I think what I want to make sure you guys are all seeing is that I didn't find anything wrong with the album. It's a great album, and I enjoy it very much. The only thing I really don't like is that it's the same old stuff. I said in the review, "It is simply an album that takes something that’s been done many times before, and still does a good job at personalizing that thing without venturing into conceptual territory."
On my rubric that I used to sore the album, I got a numerical score of exactly 3.753, give or take a few hundredths, so I basically had to decide between a 3.5 or a 4. The only reason I didn't go with a 4, is because of the unoriginality factor. Josh had a good comment above which demonstrates how hard it is to score an album like this. Basically, I had to pick a side, and at the moment I was crunching numbers, the generic-ness bothered me a bit more.
TL;DR Buy the freaking album. It's Darkest Hour. It's good.
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February 22nd, 2011 at 11:41 pm
I've had this cranked all day long, and I'm loving the hell out of it. They seem to be following their Swedish melodic death metal influences even stronger than with the previous couple of albums, and that is exactly where I had hoped that they would go. John Henry's vocals are stronger than ever. Lonestar has certainly proven that he is a more than capable guitarist, and he and Schleibaum have filled this album to the brim with memorable riffs. And now I will try to quiet the fanboy in me.
Good review, dude.
On a side note, iTunes and Amazon.com have a bonus track up for this album, titled "Hierarchy of Heathens," and I definitely recommend checking it out (it's cheaper on Amazon). It is quite killer.
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February 23rd, 2011 at 6:29 pm
I'm just glad to hear a metalcore band that doesn't rely on breakdowns to write songs.
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Anthony Gannaio replied:
February 23rd, 2011 at 9:29 pm
^^This.
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February 23rd, 2011 at 6:59 pm
Not a fan of melo-death, but the Wicher's produced Swedish melodic death sound (on this particular release) may prompt me to give it a spin again (I've tried several times, and cut it off pretty fast).
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February 24th, 2011 at 11:07 pm
I'll be seeing these dudes this Wednesday. So pumped!
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February 25th, 2011 at 9:10 am
I really like this. I do agree with a criticism often used on this site concerning the absence of wheel reinvention as it pertains to this album, but… who cares?! If it's good, then it's good and what I've heard off this album so far is good. Great songwriting, production, and some killer guitar solos. Being revolutionary is not as important as being really good at what you do. I may have to go back and check out Darkest Hour's older albums after passing on them so many years ago when my musical tastes were so different. Nice review, Anthony, even though I don't fully agree with the conclusions in your last paragraph. Fortunately, my disagreement is not a deal breaker
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February 25th, 2011 at 2:55 pm
Picked up Hidden Hands couple nights ago and it sounds exactly like this… no bueno.
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February 26th, 2011 at 1:46 pm
The last album that I listened to and actually liked from these guys was So Sedated, So Secure many moons ago. But I have to say that this one really grabbed my attention throughout it's entirety. Good job Anthony.
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