Darkest Hour

For other uses of the words "darkest hour" see Darkest hour (disambiguation)

Darkest Hour
Darkest Hour in Barcelona in 2009. From left to right: Mike Schleibaum, Mike Carrigan and Paul Burnette.
Background information
Origin	Washington, D.C.
Genres	Metalcore[1], melodic death metal[2]
Years active	1995-present
Labels	Victory
Website	www.darkesthour.cc
Members
John Henry Mike Schleibaum Paul Burnette Ryan Parrish Mike Carrigan
Former members
Matt Maben Raul Mayorga Billups Allen Fred Ziomek Mike Garrity Tommy Gun Kris Norris

Darkest Hour is an American heavy metal band from Washington, D.C., formed in 1995. Their 2007 album, Deliver Us debuted at number 110 on the Billboard album charts, with sales of 6,600.^[3]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Formation (1994−1999) 1.2 The Mark of the Judas and So Sedated, So Secure (2000−2002) 1.3 Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation and Undoing Ruin (2003−2006) 1.4 Deliver Us (2007−2008) 1.5 The Eternal Return (2009−present) 2 Band members 2.1 Current members 2.2 Former members 3 Discography 3.1 Studio albums 3.2 Compilations 3.3 EPs 3.4 Splits 3.5 DVDs 3.6 Non-album tracks 4 References 5 External links

History

Formation (1994−1999)

Darkest Hour was formed on September 23, 1994^[4] and initially consisted of vocalist John Henry, guitarist Mike Schleibaum, bassist Raul Mayorga and drummer Matt Maben.

The band released its first EP titled The Misanthrope in 1996 on a local label called Death Truck Records. In 1999, Darkest Hour released another EP titled The Prophecy Fulfilled on another label called Art Monk Construction..

The Mark of the Judas and So Sedated, So Secure (2000−2002)

The addition of second guitarist Fred Ziomek, bassist Billups Allen and drummer Ryan Parrish saw the band release their first full-length LP The Mark of the Judas in 2000, on the now-defunct M.I.A. Records.

The Mark of the Judas was not widely promoted or distributed due to M.I.A. Records going out of business not long after the album's release.

Despite the fact Darkest Hour were left without a label, the band garnered enough exposure to catch the attention of Victory Records. Their Victory debut So Sedated, So Secure was released on August 7, 2001. After the release of the album, Billups was replaced by Paul Burnette and Ziomek left the band. The album was re-issued by Victory on March 7, 2006, and featured new artwork, re-mixed audio, re-recorded vocals and additional tracks.

The band continued to tour with Schleibaum's longtime friend Mike Garrity, filling in on lead guitar duties. Eventually, they accepted Parrish's old friend, Kris Norris as the new lead guitarist, and then began to write their next record.

While Garrity was the guitarist, the band was arrested and jailed in Roland, Oklahoma for alleged marijuana charges, also for "illegally imported" beer and for an open beer can. They were fined $6000; Schleibaum was able to pay for himself, Burnette, and Garrity. Ryan and John had to stay for a couple of hours while the rest of the band had to get money to bail them out.^[5]

Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation and Undoing Ruin (2003−2006)

Their third release Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation was released on May 20, 2003. Produced by well-renowned Swedish record producer Fredrik Nordström, the album signaled a shift from the band's previous metalcore style to a more melodic death metal style. As a result, the album gained strong mainstream attention, to the point where they were asked to participate at Ozzfest 2004. Notably, the album contained political lyrics, with several songs criticizing American militarism post-September 11. The album was re-issued by Victory on July 13, 2004, with a bonus song and an additional DVD containing bonus material.

Darkest Hour released their fourth full-length LP Undoing Ruin on June 28, 2005. The album was produced by Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad) at Greenhouse Studios in Vancouver. The album was the band's first to enter the Billboard 200 charts, debuting at #138 with first week sales of 8,484.^[6]

In the 2005 documentary Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, Darkest Hour and a number of other bands including Shadows Fall, Lamb of God, Chimaira, Killswitch Engage, Unearth, and God Forbid are all listed under the category "New Wave of American Metal" in the "metal genealogy chart".

Deliver Us (2007−2008)

In early 2007, the band was in Vancouver to work on their next record with Townsend. On March 7, 2007, Victory Records issued a press statement confirming the title of the album was Deliver Us; it was released on July 10.^[7]

In April 2008, Darkest Hour created a Washington Capitals fight song and a MySpace tribute page in support of the Capitals 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs run. The song "1,000 Words to Say but One" was re-recorded with new lyrics and new solos into "Let's Go Caps!"^[8][9]

In September 2008, it was reported on Blabbermouth.net that Kris Norris had left the band and would be pursuing producing routes and possibly a new band.^[10] Not long after Kris Norris' departure, they found replacement Mike "Lonestar" Carrigan. With Lonestar officially on board the band is heading back into the studio to write & record with Producer Brian McTernan of Baltimore's Salad Days Studio.

The song Demons is on Guitar Hero 5.

The Eternal Return (2009−present)

In March 2009, Darkest Hour began to record the new album, The Eternal Return, just before co-headlining (along with Bleeding Through) the Thrash and Burn European Tour 2009 in April and May. The Eternal Return was released on June 23, 2009, two weeks later than originally announced.^[11] Darkest Hour then went on to play the 2009 Summer Slaughter Tour. They supported Trivium for the first leg of the North American Into the Mouth of Hell We Tour. They are currently writing their brand new album.

Band members

Current members

• John Henry – vocals (1995–present)
• Mike "Lonestar" Carrigan – guitar (2008–present)
• Mike Schleibaum – guitar (1995–present)
• Ryan Parrish – drums (1999–present)
• Paul Burnette – bass guitar (2001–present)

Former members

• Matt Maben – drums (1995–1999, featured on The Misanthrope and The Prophecy Fulfilled)
• Raul Mayorga – bass guitar (1995–1999, featured on The Misanthrope and The Prophecy Fulfilled)
• Billups Allen – bass guitar (1999–2001, featured on the untitled split 7", The Mark of the Judas and So Sedated, So Secure)
• Fred Ziomek – guitar (1999–2001, featured on the untitled split 7", The Mark of the Judas, So Sedated, So Secure and Where Heroes Go to Die)
• Mike Garrity – guitar (2001, did not appear on any recordings, as he was a temporary replacement between Fred Ziomek and Kris Norris)
• Tommy Gun – guitar (2001, filled in for the band between Fred Ziomek and Mike Garrity. He was later asked to join the band Immortal Avenger)
• Kris Norris – guitar (2001–2008)

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album	Label	Chart peaks[12]
			US	US Indie	US Heat
2000	The Mark of the Judas	MIA Records	—	—	—
2001	So Sedated, So Secure	Victory Records	—	—	—
2003	Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation	Victory Records	—	—	—
2005	Undoing Ruin	Victory Records	138	10	2
2007	Deliver Us	Victory Records	110	14	1
2009	The Eternal Return	Victory Records	104	16	1
"—" denotes a release that did not chart.

Compilations

• Archives (2006), A-F Records

EPs

• The Misanthrope (1996), Death Truck Records
• The Prophecy Fulfilled (1999), Art Monk Construction

Splits

• A Split Seven Inch (1999) Split with Groundzero, East Coast Empire
• Where Heroes Go to Die (2001) Split with Dawncore, Join the Team Player
• Split Seven Inch (2004) Split with Set My Path, April 78

DVDs

• Party Scars and Prison Bars: A Thrashography (DVD, 2005)

Non-album tracks

Year	Song	Appears on
2007	"Nazi Punks Fuck Off" (Dead Kennedys cover)	Kerrang! Higher Voltage[13]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Darkest Hour

• Official website

v • d • e Darkest Hour John Henry  • Mike Schleibaum  • Paul Burnette  • Ryan Parrish  • Mike Carrigan Matt Maben  • Raul Mayorga  • Billups Allen  • Fred Ziomek  • Mike Garrity  • Tommy Gun  • Kris Norris Albums The Mark of the Judas • So Sedated, So Secure • Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation • Undoing Ruin • Deliver Us • The Eternal Return EP's The Misanthrope • The Prophecy Fulfilled Compilations Archives Labels Victory Records