Recorded exterior of a Judas Priest and Dokken present on the Capital Centre in Landover, MD on Might 31, 1986, an lively younger man sporting a sleeveless zebra-print physique swimsuit would loudly and proudly proclaim right into a microphone, “Heavy metallic guidelines, all that punk shit sucks. It doesn’t belong on this world. It belongs on fucking Mars, man!” That spur-of-the-moment declaration grew to become burned into the consciousness of the metallic neighborhood by way of the cult basic documentary Heavy Steel Parking Lot, and that particular person—colloquially known as “Zebraman,” actual identify David Wine—would turn out to be one among its unwitting stars. Zebraman’s documented rant, eternally saved to movie, would dwell on as a humorous image of what occurs when youthful ardour is combined with an equal dose of willful ignorance.
Maybe nobody fairly like melodic dying metallic outfit Darkest Hour is aware of that these ironclad-yet-arbitrary partitions are something however dismantled. Fashioned in 1995 whereas the group’s sole remaining founding members, guitarist Mike Schleibaum and vocalist John Henry, have been nonetheless youngsters, Darkest Hour began out as a metallic hardcore band within the vein of hybrid acts like Earth Disaster, Integrity and Deadguy. Following their debut full-length The Mark of the Judas in 2000, Victory Information—the hardcore label of their heroes—supplied them a five-album deal that unknowingly formed their profession for years to come back.
By 2004, after in depth touring in help of 2003’s well-received Hidden Arms of a Sadist Nation, Schleibaum and Henry, together with drummer Ryan Parrish, lead guitarist Kris Norris and bassist Paul Burnette, have been due for his or her third LP below the Victory banner. Norris, now on his second file with the band, flexed his superhuman soloing talents and helped progress the quintet’s songwriting as a complete to the following stage. The “core” parts of their sound successfully evaporated, and their transformation right into a full-blown melodeath killing machine was full, armed with their strongest materials so far. Backed by the steering of recent producer and former Decibel Corridor of Fame inductee Devin Townsend, sturdy monetary backing from their label and an insatiable starvation for the street, Undoing Break was certain to be a hit.
Nicely, sure and no. The group’s fourth album would see their highest gross sales ever, incomes them a spot on Billboard’s Prime 200 listing in addition to headlining alternatives in (barely) bigger golf equipment. Preconceptions and gatekeeping, nonetheless, left Darkest Hour a home and not using a residence. Awkwardly grouped with a rising variety of standouts within the scene, the band was branded as a part of the loosely outlined subgenre of “metalcore.” Already too metallic for hardcore, their distinctly mid-aughts look, ties to Victory Information (and its comically misguided promotional marketing campaign) and the senseless assumption of being an On the Gates rip-off made them pariahs within the eyes of “true” metalheads, with many opting to disregard the file totally. With such scrutiny, they might as nicely have been on Mars. We’re now 20 years faraway from the discharge of one of many biggest examples of American melodic dying metallic. Forward of its full-album efficiency at April’s Steel & Beer Fest in Philadelphia, the story of Undoing Break is lengthy overdue for Decibel’s hallowed halls. Depart your zebra-print bodysuits on the door.
Want extra basic Darkest Hour? To learn the complete seven-page story, that includes interviews with the members who carried out on Undoing Break, buy the print problem from our retailer, or digitally by way of our app for iPhone/iPad or Android.
