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Darkest Hour - So Sedated So Secure
DARKEST HOUR
So Sedated, So Secure (2001)
I read about this band and this album and I just had to hear it for myself. Swedish-style metal from Washington, DC? It couldn't be true... but it is.
Darkest Hour is an Americanized version of the melodic death metal sound of Sweden. It's a mixture of Arch Enemy-style vocals and music similar to The Haunted. The "Americanized" part is that there is less melody and more of a hardcore influence. But don't mistake this for standard metal-core drivel. There is serious passion to be found here and it's all well executed and free from silly macho posturing.
So Sedated So Secure (the band's third full-length release) is a bit short with 8 songs in 39 minutes, but that's okay because Darkest Hour doesn't waste time with any half-assed tracks. Each member of the quintet completely throws himself into every second of every song. They bring the pain and let you feel the noise with quick double bass drumming, twin guitar leads, catchy riffs, and a singer that could easily out scream most of the vocalists from the other bands on the Victory Records roster.
The band crunches and pounds through these eight tracks with a potent mix of frenzied speed and mid-paced, heartfelt breakdowns. On "No Closer Than A Stranger" the band proves this with authority, whipping out the most frantic couple minutes of music I've ever heard (no kidding), and then ending the track with a thick breakdown that could dig a hole down to the Earth's hot molten outer-core with its heavy groove.
Throughout the album the guitar work shows passion and skill, but the leads aren't quite as fresh and stunning as those you might here from their Swedish counterparts; they're certainly not as prominent and there are no high-flying solos to be found. The drumming is similarly less-than-flashy (the same fill over and over), but very solid and very "horse galloping at top speed down a sandy beach" sounding. Then there are the vocals, which simply slam. John Henry doesn't have perfect control over his vox yet and it's a little one-dimensional, but hot damn - the passion, energy and ferocity he exhibits is amazing.
If you go into this disc expecting the quality of musicianship, production, and flaming guitar-lead wizardry found on the usual Swedish melodic-death suspects, be prepared for a disappointment. What the guys in Darkest Hour lack in mature chops, flashy skill and melodic hooks (compared to many of their Swedish peers), they make up for by being extra frantic and ferocious. Furthermore, don't expect metal lyrics. Darkest Hour's lyrics lean towards the typical style of socially-aware, American hardcore bands more than the typical imagery-drenched, bleak lyrical content found on most metal albums.
If Darkest Hour was from Sweden I'd still dig this album very much. But the fact that they're from right here in the U.S. just sweetens the pot that much more. (8.0)
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