PHOTOS: RICHIE DOWNS | For almost twenty years, Virginia’s Darkest Hour have been hammering away at the metal scene, carving a niche with their distinct class of melodic death metal. 2014 has brought a new, critically acclaimed album, a new rhythm section, and high-powered live shows, including a run on this year’s Mayhem Fest. Monday night at Empire in Springfield, VA, both the band and the fans were treated to one hell of a homecoming.
With seven bands on the bill, things got off to an early start. I missed some of the local support and Black Crown Initiate while interviewing Darkest Hour guitarist Mike Schleibaum (look for that interview next week). I came back in with enough time to grab a good spot for Kansas’ Origin. The four-piece unleashed an assault of balls-out, intense technical death metal. Vocalist Jason Keyser’s wailing, guttural vocals were otherworldly, and drummer John Longstreth’s blast beats drove the band at warp speed.
A small pit opened up on the floor as they went into “All Things Dead.” Bassist Mike Flores and guitarist Paul Ryan seemed to be in a finger war, seemingly trying to outmatch each other in a technical duel. The crowd was a bit meager due to the early hour, despite being four bands into the set at this point. As Keyser was introducing “The Aftermath,” he hadn’t even finished saying the name of the song, and the band blasted in with a roar akin to a tractor-trailer crash. Hair windmills and headbangs ruled the moment, and Keyser commanded the crowd to start the next song with a silent wall of death, beginning the music as the two sides of the split crowd collided.
Up next was California deathcore band Carnifex. Hyper, mechanical riffs melded with bone-crunching breakdowns, and vocalist Scott Lewis belted out the screams with a fury. His demonic screams on “Die Without Hope” counteracted the slow, churning riffs that broke loose and took off at high-speed. Despite Lewis’ many demands for a pit to form, the crowd up front was enthusiastic yet fairly sedate. Either they used up their energy during Origin’s set, were conserving energy for Unearth and Darkest Hour, or they were just not feeling the mosh for Carnifex.
They went into “Lie To My Face” from their debut album, and closed out their set with the scorching “Hell Chose Me.” Drummer Shawn Cameron was the star of this song, his complex double-bass footwork being a real highlight of technical drumming skill.
Unearth chose to begin their set on a lighter note, playing South Park’s hilarious song “Uncle Fucka” as their intro music. The mystery of the crowd energy was solved in the first ten seconds of the first song, “Giles.” The crowd exploded with energy, a huge pit forming in the center. Vocalist Trevor Phipps was a spirited ringleader, the crowd continuously feeding off of his energy. Moshing and stage diving ensued as they played through “My Will Be Done” and “Watch It Burn.”
One interesting thing I noticed was drummer Nick Pierce, who holds his left stick with a traditional grip, not something you see very often, especially in metal. Yes, I tend to notice these things. The chugging locomotion of metal continued, as they played “The Great Dividers.” Unearth was on point from start to finish, sounding fantastic and playing with relentless energy all the way through.
The floor filled as Darkest Hour took the stage, the whole club welcoming the band home through exuberant cheers. Opening their set with the pounding “Wasteland,” the band completely owned the stage from the first note. The wall of metal coming from the stage was like a Panzer division on the attack. Going through songs like “Raptured in Exile” and “Savor the Kill,” vocalist John Henry engaged and encouraged the crowd as he screamed and sang, and guitarist Mike Schleibaum was a blur of energy, not standing still for a second.
Bassist Aaron Deal was an imposing force, and proved that pink basses are indeed quite metal. They continued with the remarkable “Infinite Eyes,” one of my personal favorites from their latest album.
The other new addition to the band, drummer Travis Orbin, had an interesting jazzy influence in his playing, bringing Sabbath drummer Bill Ward to mind. Mike and guitarist Michael “Lonestar” Carrigan were a dynamic guitar duo, trading solos and riffs, and playing off of each other with ease. On songs like “Lost for Life,” the melodic solos were just the right way to balance out the ferocity of the rest of the music and Henry’s fiery vocals.
As they closed their set with “The Sadist Nation,” the crowd got a second wind, moshing and crowd surfing like the band had just begun. The band exited, and return shortly thereafter, responding to the demands of the crowd for more. They were genuinely moved by the call for an encore, showering the fans with their thanks. They ended the night with “With a Thousand Words to Say But One,” leaving Empire sated and satisfied.
After a show like this one, it is evident that Darkest Hour have stepped up their game and reached another level, ready to take on the world by any means necessary.
DARKEST HOUR
UNEARTH
CARNIFEX
