Darkest Hour 2009 "The Eternal Return" Devolution of Flesh

Just last week, the sixth studio album and follow up to “Deliver Us” ("The Eternal Return") for D.C. natives Darkest Hour dropped at the 104th spot on U.S. popular music charts. Darkest Hour has done quite well at staying fresh and reinventing themselves enough but not too much. Usually anything these guys touch is gold, but this new album fell a little short for me.

I just got done listening to Darkest Hour 2009 album and tried to do so with fresh ears, as though it was their first album. I couldn't help but to have expectations and they just were not met...

The album fell short of the fresh feel I have come to expect, about half way through I almost forgot if I was listening to their new CD or "Deliver Us".  Don't get me wrong, I loved "Deliver Us", loved it! That however does not mean it is ok for them to make it again. On the other hand, the guitars and vocals were spot on as usual; it might be worth mentioning, though, that they lost Kris Norris, and with him a bit of their metal... Still their melodic blend of hardcore and metal, while not being too heavy on either, is nothing short of special.

All in all, I want to say to Darkest Hour, keep up the good work, keep making albums, but mix it up. Heavy Metal tends to be such a stagnant genre, save for the stand out artists that are not afraid to push it a bit.  Here is the first song on the CD "Devolution of Flesh". Enjoy!