July 18, 2000 - Darkest Hour and The Mark Of The Judas

Eight days after my last release a new band joins my library when Darkest Hour released their first album "The Mark Of The Judas" on July 18, 2000. But who is Darkest Hour? They are a five-piece melodic death metal band from Washington, D.C. consisting of drummer Ryan Parrish, bassist Billups Allen, rhythm guitarist Mike Schleibaum, lead guitarist Fred Ziomek and lead singer John Henry. Darkest Hour play a very fast-paced and heavy style of metal and they have entirely screaming vocals as well. Sounds great to me! Let's see what Darkest Hour is all about!

The album kicks off with the six minute "For The Soul Of The Savior" and it's got some nice, heavy guitars leading the way and a fast-paced rhythm section to back Ziomek. Henry's screaming vocals sound pretty heavy, but he's pretty monotone and never stays from his mid-to-late vocal range. The chorus is a tad slower, but still pretty fast and things sound a little repetitive, but undeniably heavy. They heavily jam things out for about four minutes and then the final two minutes are a much slower but very epic closing riff. Ziomek plays some epic and cool lead guitar and Parrish delivers a few nice drum fills in this cool closing part. The faster beginning part is a perfect intro to Dsrkest Hour, but I thought the slower ending really brought things together. Up next is "A Blessing In Tragedy" and it's got a pretty catchy main riff with a nice heavy rhythm section and Ziomek leading the way with some coop offbeat guitar. Henry screams overtop in his monotone voice and (as always) he sounds heavy and decent, but nothing really stands out. They don't stray far from the main riff on this one so it's a good but not great metal song. Track 3 is "The Legacy" and they nicely dive into a pretty fast and cool main riff with lots of cool guitars and drums, and Henry sounding better when he holds those screams a little longer. They also don't stray far from the main riff on this song, but it's a way better main riff and therefore a pretty good song. The next track is called "Part II", though there never is or was a part I. Ziomek and Schleibaum play different light guitar riffs and the rhythm riff is pretty good on it's own, but when Ziomek really steps it up things sound really good! Midway through this short instrumental interlude a cello joins in! This is very unexpected considering what we've heard so far, but things sound really good! Apparently Darkest Hour can really nail an interlude and I loved the addition of the cello! Track 5 is back to normality with "Eclipse" as they fire right into a nice super fast-paced main riff with everyone firing on all cylinders. Parrish continues to show off with a bunch of nice drumming and Henry and Ziomek lead another solid metal riff and words don't properly do justice to all the different and cool "typical" riffs. They jam out the ending a little too long, but it was still good for the most part. Up next is the title track "The Mark Of The Judas" and this main riff is a great example of what melodic death metal sounds like with some super heavy guitars and bass, but it's all put to a pretty catchy rhythm and I think things sound pretty good (if you're ok with Henry still singing in his one and only tone). After a couple rounds of fast-paced jamming they slow things down for a bit and play a nice melodic riff that reminds me of Iron Maiden! Then they nicely ramp back into the main riff to heavily close things out. Track 7 is "Escape Artist" and it's got another really heavy but also catchy riff in the chorus. The verse is pretty typical Darkest Hour, but the chorus really stands out and sounds great. There's a guitar break midway through that I wouldn't call a solo, but it's very distorted and sounds pretty metal. After another verse and chorus they end things on a great note with a heavy closing riff. The next track is "Messiah Complex" and they dive right into another typical sounding main riff (and typical isn't a bad thing when it's another unique riff with lots of cool guitars and drums). Words don't do proper justice, but it's a nice fast-paced main riff with both guitarists playing some speedy and cool stuff. This is one of the first songs I heard by Darkest Hour so it's a bit nostalgic for me, but I think even so it's still a pretty cool tune. The last song on the album is the 7+ minute "How The Beautiful Decay" and they waste no time getting into a hard-hitting main riff with some cool drumming by Parrish and Ziomek and Schleibaum syncing up for an emphatic and loud guitar riff. Henry screams solidly overtop and things sound pretty epic and pretty heavy. After a few minutes there's a slower instrumental break that does a good job of relieving the pressure, before thrusting you nicely back in. They jam out another verse and chorus and then we return to the instrumental part and jam this out for several minutes, all the way until the end of the song! It's decent, but they do it for a little too long, this didn't need to be over seven minutes long.

That is the end of "The Mark Of The Judas" and I thought it was a decent debut album from Darkest Hour. The guitars are great and what really drives things, but the rhythm section is solid as well! John Henry is a good screamer in that he can hold his screams and seemingly scream forever, but his monotone voice does drag a bit as the album goes on. It's a decent debut, but there's definitely room for improvement, which I'm sure will come!