Review Summary: Cementing Darkest Hour's status as a strength in today's metal scene.
From the legion of metal acts that have poured from the U.S in recent years, Darkest Hour were, for me, real attention grabbers. 2005’s Undoing Ruin impressed with its pleasing blend of straight ahead thrash and some wonderfully melodic chord progressions, as the band revealed themselves as a genuine song writing force, refraining from the customary crutch of re-hashed breakdowns and syrupy hooks.
The development made on Deliver Us is subtle, yet significant. The songs are considerably more nuanced, with attention paid to the emotional resonance of the tracks, focusing on how to impact the listener through means other than a rapid assault. A large reason for this is the unleashing of lead guitar player Kris Norris, who on this album is truly allowed to spread his wings and demonstrate what an exceptional talent he is. Songs such as ‘Tunguska’ are elevated by lead sections that, whilst being a tour-de-force in technicality and technique, soar with a melodious abandon that is as impressive as it is infectious. The tasteful harmony runs in opener ‘Doomsayer’ and the lightning fast sweep picking of ‘Demon(S)’ have a similar effect, whilst dissonant shred work replete in ‘Full Imperial Collapse’ is simply stunning.
Yet, other attempts at injecting their songs with a more distinguished and memorable edge do not work as well. Vocalist John Henry, although possessing a decent harsh ability, employs more often on Deliver Us a clean tone which, while providing at least an alternative to the constant coarse delivery, really fails to project any emotive or affecting impression. His singing unfortunately proves to be undeniably monotonous, with his range remaining unexplored, or more likely just confirming itself to be extremely limited and not worthy of replacing his trademark bark. Look no further than ‘Sanctuary’ or the aforementioned ‘Demon(S)’ as evidence.
Aside from this melodic attentiveness, the standard Darkest Hour thrash attack makes a welcome return. ‘Doomsayer’ erupts into a verse packed with driving, single note riffs and ‘A Paradox With Files’, for the most part, rattles along at a furious pace. Yet, the prize for the albums most brutal offering has to go to ‘Stand And Receive Your Judgement’, which at only two and a half minutes chugs and shreds with a satisfying simplicity amongst the more sprawling and involved compositions.
Deliver Us was a logical transition for Darkest Hour, as they built on dynamics that were present previously and provided the most exciting opportunity for expansion. This growth means that the album has undoubtedly shown itself to be the bands most diverse and varied work to date, and cemented, in my mind at least, Darkest Hours status as a strength in today’s metal scene.
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