Darkest Hour has been toying with the idea of moving in a more progressive direction for a couple of albums now.  2007’s Deliver Us took a big step in this direction, but the band sort of backed out, ratcheting up the aggression again on The Eternal Return.  The Human Romance sees Darkest Hour taking another crack at a more varied sound, and really going all in this time.  I have always seen Darkest Hour’s raw edge as their greatest strength, it is the one aspect of hardcore that metalcore bands probably should have been focusing on, and Darkest Hour were one of the few that got it right.  Early albums like The Mark of Judas and So Sedated, So Secure weren’t really very complex, but they made up for it with attitude. The raw anger that has always been such a vital part of good hardcore being added to what was basically bare bones melodic death metal, was their trademark.  From my perspective, progress is a dicey proposition for bands like Darkest Hour, bands that build their reputation on emotions, or intangibles rather than simply their sound. 

We see shades of the band’s past right out of the gate, with the first proper song “The World Engulfed in Flames”.  The song starts and ends with classic up-tempo melodic death metal, and features a well constructed melodic mid section that really caught my attention.  The Human Romance gets off to a good start, but the next track “Savor the Kill” is where things start to break down a little bit.  “Savor the Kill” is a mid paced, almost poppy song that sees vocalist John Henry taking a crack at a slightly more tuneful style.  Basically it is sort of a half sung yell, and it really doesn’t work for me.  Henry who has gotten by on grit and raw aggression for years sounds painfully out of place at times,  trying to match his angry bark with the almost sickly sweet melodies in that show up at various points throughout the album, “Love as a Weapon” being another prime example.  One has to wonder how much of an impact album producer Peter Witchers had on the direction of this album.  The scent of mid era Soilwork is all over this thing, and it was something that I picked out before I even knew who produced it. 

The Human Romance is not without merit, in addition to “The World Engulfed in Flames“, the album features several other very good tracks, and Darkest Hour’s improvement as musicians has never been more obvious.  Look no further than the stunning 8 plus minute instrumental “Terra Solaris” for evidence of this.  The Human Romance is full of well developed melodies, and is incredibly catchy in places.   There will certainly be an audience for this, it just isn’t something that I can fully get behind.  The writing on the wall is pointing to a change in direction, but enough of the band’s old style is still intact to avoid alienating the core of their fan base.  People who see Clayman and Natural Born Chaos as high points in the discographies of In Flames and Soilwork will probably love this album.  If you are like me, and those transitional melodic death metal albums are where In Flames and Soilwork started to lose you, proceed with caution. 

TRACK LISTING

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*Comments:

1.  Terra Nocturnus
2.  The World Engulfed In Flames
3.  Savor The Kill
4.  Man And Swine
5.  Love As A Weapon
6.  Your Every Day Disaster
7.  Violent By Nature
8.  Purgatory
9.  Severed Separates
10.  Wound
11.  Terra Solaris
12.  Beyond The Life You Know

Total playing time: 45:35

Release Date: February 22, 2011
Label:  E1 Music

Reviewer: Garett

March 28, 2011

Darkest Hour - The Human Romance