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THE REVIEW
"Undoing Ruin" is the fifth album by Darkest Hour, an American band heavily influenced by European, actually Scandinavian, or even SWEDISH metal I would say...
The album in question in its early stages sounds like a blatant tribute to "Slaughter of the Soul", played with the same technical expertise but with a greater thrash attitude. The acidic and direct screaming of singer John Henry pairs well with the guitar work of Mike Schleibaum and guitar-virtuoso Kris Norris, while skilled drummer Ryan Parrish, along with bassist Paul Burnette, delivers relentless rhythms very close to Swedish-made death metal.
A quite direct album, without a production inflated to the extreme as is often the case today. The record begins with "A Thousand Words to Say...", in my opinion, one of the best songs along with "Sound the Surrender" and "Tranquil", tracks that stand out also thanks to the excellent compositions and neo-classical inspiration solos by lead guitarist Kris, who is endowed with great technique. Noteworthy is the central acoustic break, that is, track number 5 "Pathos", a minute and something of a reprise from tight rhythms and screams (don't worry, no emo).
A good album, which certainly does not shine for originality, but an excellent band that performs very well live (at least according to this writer_rock in idro '05). It definitely deserves a listen!
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Summary by Bot
Undoing Ruin, the fifth album by American band Darkest Hour, heavily draws from Swedish metal influences with thrash elements. The album features impressive technical performances, especially from the guitarists and rhythm section. Tracks like 'A Thousand Words to Say' and 'Sound the Surrender' stand out, alongside a brief acoustic interlude. While not entirely original, it is a solid work with strong live performance energy and deserves a listen.
Darkest Hour
Darkest Hour is an American metal band from Washington, D.C., formed in 1995. They fuse melodic death metal with metalcore and strong Swedish influences, led by vocalist John Henry and guitarist Mike Schleibaum. Key releases include Undoing Ruin (2005), Deliver Us (2007), Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora (2017), and Perpetual | Terminal (2024).02 Reviews
