Throughout its illustrious discography, Darkest Hour has wandered the grey area between melodic death metal and metalcore. Perpetual | Terminal is no major departure in that regard, drawing primarily from classic Gothenburg melodeath and embellishing with more core-oriented passages. I got a chuckle from the similarity between the eponymous opener’s intro and that of Amon Amarth’s “Deceiver of the Gods,” but was soon caught up in the track’s furious energy and lethal execution. The album is an absolute treasure trove of At The Gates-style riffs and early In Flames melodic harmonies, including a bevy of awe-inspiring solos, and the band was clever enough to pack these predominantly in the short, high-energy tracks that break up the longer, more dynamic pieces. “Societal Bile” unleashes a flurry of stop-start riffs bound to make you stumble, “The Nihilist Undone” packs a punch with D-beat adjacent drum assaults and “My Only Regret” somehow crams one of the sweetest solos on the album inside a 2-minute track.
Metalcore doesn’t have the best reputation, to chance an understatement, but Darkest Hour is most at home when both sides of its identity operate in harmony. “One With the Void” has an emotional core that shines in the melodic chorus but lends extra impact to the bludgeoning verses that approximate Fallujah-style deathcore. Further down the tracklist, the album peaks with the bleak “New Utopian Dream” where the refrain gradually builds to a crescendo as the sardonic vocals hurl ‘to suffer is to be free’ into the ether. When the scales tip too far into metalcore trope territory, though, the result can get pretty mawkish, such as the brief but embarrassing megaphone rant in “Societal Bile.” This is thankfully not frequent, depending somewhat on your tolerance for anything -core related, and the only big dud is “Mausoleum.” The grand, melodic choruses are fine but the verses rival Staind for the most mopey balladry this side of the millennium.
So exceptions aside, the songwriting is solid as a rock. What sets Darkest Hour apart from the endless parade of bands playing this style is the execution. Various levels of vocal distortion keep the music lively and change up the impact so you don’t phase out, and the guitars alternate between tight riffs and fluid melodicism with ease. The highlight amongst the cast is the ferocious assault on the drumkit, encompassing great technical ability, indomitable energy and imaginative play with fills and off-beat notes. It’s no wonder the drums got a more prominent place in the mix than usual, though the bass is sadly relegated to a bit part. The production is overall commendable; the sharpness of the drums can feel a smidge overbearing, but a good mix and nice, crunchy guitar sound make up for a lot.
My research indicates Darkest Hour has had advocates and detractors through every stage of their career, but always more of the former than the latter. Though I haven’t done a deep dive into their entire discography, I can’t imagine Perpetual | Terminal disappointing anyone who’s already a fan, and all but the most anaphylactically metalcore-allergic should give it a shot as well. It may not fully dodge all the cliches, but there is no faulting a band so rich in skill and energy, capable of these inescapable barrages of riffs and solos, written into such a tight, lean, and lethal format. Darkest Hour have another winner on their hands.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: N/A | Format Reviewed: Stream
Label: MNRK Heavy
Websites: officialdarkesthour.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/darkesthourdudes
Releases Worldwide: February 23rd, 2024
