Darkest Hour

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Biography

Darkest Hour is an American Melodic Death Metal band from Washington, D.C., formed in 1995. Though failing to break early in their career, the band has received acclaim for their albums Undoing Ruin , Deliver Us , and The Eternal Return (album)|The Eternal Return . Deliver Us debuted at number 110 on the Billboard 200|Billboard album charts, with sales of 6,600,Blabbermouth.net, , Posted July 18, 2007. and their most recent effort The Eternal Return garnered them an even higher position in the Billboard album charts at number 104. allmusic . Retrieved on December 12, 2008.

History

Formation (1994–1999)

Darkest Hour was formed on September 23, 1995,Kingtuts.co.uk , Posted December 10, 2006. and initially consisted of vocalist John Henry, guitarist Mike Schleibaum , bassist Raul Mayorga and drummer Matt Maben.

The band released its first Extended play|EP titled The Misanthrope (album)|The Misanthrope in 1996 on a local label called Death Truck Records. In 1996, Darkest Hour cut a single titled "Paths of Despair" for East Coast Empire Records' The Harder They Come compilation. The song proceeds at a slower, grueling tempo in comparison to the up-beat tempo the band would come to be known for. In 1999, Darkest Hour released another EP titled The Prophecy Fulfilled on another label called Art Monk Construction .

The Mark of the Judas and So Sedated, So Secure (2000–2002)

The addition of second guitarist Fred Ziomek, bassist Billups Allen and drummer Ryan Parrish saw the band release their first full-length LP album|LP The Mark of the Judas in 2000, on the now-defunct M.I.A. Records.

The Mark of the Judas was not widely promoted or distributed due to M.I.A. Records going out of business not long after the album's release.

Despite the fact Darkest Hour were left without a label, the band garnered enough exposure to catch the attention of Victory Records . Their Victory debut So Sedated, So Secure was released on August 7, 2001. After the release of the album, Billups was replaced by Paul Burnette and Ziomek left the band. The album was re-issued by Victory on March 7, 2006, and featured new artwork, re-mixed audio, re-recorded vocals and additional tracks.

The band continued to tour, with Schleibaum's longtime friend Mike Garrity filling in on lead guitar duties. Eventually, they accepted Parrish's old friend Kris Norris as the new lead guitarist, and then began to write their next record.

While Garrity was the guitarist, the band was arrested and jailed in Roland, Oklahoma for alleged marijuana charges, also for "illegally imported" beer and for an open beer can. They were fined $6000; Schleibaum was able to pay for himself, Burnette, and Garrity. Ryan and John had to stay for a couple of hours while the rest of the band had to get money to bail them out.Party Scars & Prison Bars: A Thrashography

Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation and Undoing Ruin (2003–2006)

Their third release Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation was released on May 20, 2003. Produced by well-renowned Swedish record producer Fredrik Nordström , the album signaled a shift from the band's previous metalcore style to a more melodic death metal style. As a result, the album gained strong mainstream attention, allowing the band to perform at Ozzfest 2004. Notably, the album contained political lyrics, with several songs criticizing American militarism post- September 11, 2001 attacks|September 11 . The album was re-issued by Victory on July 13, 2004, with a bonus song and an additional DVD containing bonus material.

Darkest Hour released their fourth full-length LP Undoing Ruin on June 28, 2005. The album was produced by Devin Townsend ( Strapping Young Lad ) at Greenhouse Studios in Vancouver . The album was the band's first to enter the Billboard 200 charts, debuting at #138 with first week sales of 8,484.Blabbermouth.net, , Posted July 6, 2005.

In the 2005 documentary '' Metal: A Headbanger's Journey '', Darkest Hour and a number of other bands including Shadows Fall , Lamb of God (band)|Lamb of God , Chimaira , Killswitch Engage , Unearth , and God Forbid are all listed under the category " Metal: A Headbanger's Journey#"Definitive Metal Family Tree"|New Wave of American Metal " in the " Heavy metal music|metal genealogy chart".

Deliver Us (2007–2008)

In early 2007, the band was in Vancouver to work on their next record with Townsend. On March 7, 2007, Victory Records issued a press statement confirming the title of the album was Deliver Us ; it was released on July 10.Blabbermouth.net, , Posted March 7, 2007.

In April 2008, Darkest Hour created a Washington Capitals fight song and a MySpace tribute page in support of the Capitals 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs run. The song "1,000 Words to Say but One" was re-recorded with new lyrics and new solos into "Let's Go Caps!"expressnightout.com,Washington Capitals "Fight Song" Myspace,

In September 2008, it was reported on Blabbermouth.net that Kris Norris had left the band and would be pursuing producing routes and possibly a new band. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx? mode=Article& newsitemID=104602 Blabbermouth Not long after Kris Norris' departure, they found replacement Mike "Lonestar" Carrigan. With Lonestar officially on board the band is heading back into the studio to write & record with Producer Brian McTernan of Baltimore's Salad Days Studio.

The band's song "Demon(s)" is featured on the music game Guitar Hero 5 .

The Eternal Return (2009-2010)

In March 2009, Darkest Hour began to record the new album, The Eternal Return (album)|The Eternal Return , just before co-headlining (along with Bleeding Through ) the Thrash and Burn European Tour 2009 in April and May. The Eternal Return (album)|The Eternal Return was released on June 23, 2009, two weeks later than originally announced. http://www.antimusic.com/news/09/april/15Darkest_Hour_Set_The_Eternal_Return_in_June.shtml Darkest Hour then went on to play the 2009 Summer Slaughter Tour. They supported Trivium (band)|Trivium for the first leg of the North American Into the Mouth of Hell We Tour.

In February 2010, Darkest Hour announced a new tour with Dillinger Escape Plan , Iwrestledabearonce , and Animals as Leaders .

Signing to E1 and The Human Romance (2010–present)

In April 2010, Darkest Hour announced their signing to E1 Music after having been with Victory Records for a decade. The new album will be produced by Soilwork guitarist Peter Wichers , who helped pioneer Swedish melodic death metal and was a major influence on Darkest Hour. In an August press release, the band described the new material as "the most emotional and melodic Darkest Hour album to date" and also said it "shares in that aggression and pushes Darkest Hour beyond the unknown."

In a new Metal Injection interview, Darkest Hour members Mike Schleibaum and Ryan Parrish revealed that the new record will be titled The Human Romance , and it will be released on February 22, 2011.

On January 13, 2011, A new song entitled "Savor the Kill" was released onto Noisecreep .

On December 22nd, 2011, Darkest Hour announced that they have parted ways with longtime drummer Ryan Parrish.

Band members

;Current members

John Henry – vocals (1995–present)

Mike "Lonestar" Carrigan – guitar (2008–present)

Mike Schleibaum – guitar (1995–present)

Paul Burnette – bass guitar (2001–present)

;Former members

Matt Maben – drums (1995–1999, featured on The Misanthrope and The Prophecy Fulfilled )

Raul Mayorga – bass guitar (1995–1999, featured on The Misanthrope and The Prophecy Fulfilled )

Billups Allen – bass guitar (1999–2001, featured on the untitled split 7", The Mark of the Judas and So Sedated, So Secure )

Fred Ziomek – guitar (1999–2001, featured on the untitled split 7", The Mark of the Judas , So Sedated, So Secure and Where Heroes Go to Die )

Mike Garrity – guitar (2001, did not appear on any recordings, as he was a temporary replacement between Fred Ziomek and Kris Norris)

Tommy Gun – guitar (2001, filled in for the band between Fred Ziomek and Mike Garrity. He was later asked to join the band Immortal Avenger)

Kris Norris – guitar (2001–2008)

Ryan Parrish – drums (1999–2011)

Discography

;Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions
Year	Album details	US Peak chart positions for Darkest Hour in the United States:	US Heat.	US Ind.
2000	The Mark of the Judas Released: July 18, 2000 Label: MIA	—	—	—
2001	So Sedated, So Secure Released: April, 2001 Label: Victory Records\|Victory	—	—	—
2003	Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation Released: May 20, 2003 Label: Victory	—	—	—
2005	Undoing Ruin Released: June 28, 2005 Label: Victory	138	2	10
2007	Deliver Us Released: July 10, 2007 Label: Victory	110	1	14
2009	Eternal Return (album)>The Eternal Return Released: June 23, 2009 Label: Victory	104	1	16
2011	The Human Romance Released: February 22, 2011 Label: E1 Music\|E1	185	3	23
"—" denotes a release that did not chart.

;Compilations

Archives (Darkest Hour album)|Archives (2006), A-F Records

;EPs

The Misanthrope (album)|The Misanthrope (1996), Death Truck Records

The Prophecy Fulfilled (1999), Art Monk Construction

;Splits

w/ Groundzero (1999), East Coast Empire

Where Heroes Go to Die w/ Dawncore (2001), Join the Team Player

w/ Set My Path (2004), April 78

;DVDs

Party Scars and Prison Bars: A Thrashography (DVD, 2005)

Non-album tracks

Year	Song	Appears on
2007	" Nazi Punks Fuck Off " ( Dead Kennedys cover)	Kerrang& #33; Higher Voltage

Copyright Citations

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