Darkest Hour

The Mark of the Judas (Join the Team Player)
by Scott Hefflon

This is the record that came out just before MIA had their plug pulled. This DC hardcore/ metalcore/ whatever band had an EP on Death Truck which I’ve never seen, an EP on Art Monk that hinted at the devastation to come, then this (and its subsequent reissue), and a new one on Victory. No surprise there. Hardcore hears At The Gates and it changes their lives. Yup, they had that affect.

Darkest Hour, I’d admit, have an authentically seething, dirty sound. Produced by Brian McTernan at Salad Days, it sounds good’n’nasty. It ain’t no Tomas Skogsberg treatment (Entombed, Grave, etc.), but that guy can make guitars sound like throaty exhaust pipes belching noxious fumes. Ya know, as much as I kinda bag on these guys for being a mediocre metal band (hardcore, in other words), they’ll hopefully introduce a lot of kids to the underground world of melodic death metal so they’ll have something to pursue when they outgrow hardcore.
(www.jointheteamplayer.com)