Darkest Hour - the Eternal Return Review

Perfection. Metal. Shredding. These are the words that fill my mind whenever a song form this album comes on. Thrash/punk/metal/awesome legends Darkest Hour's 2009 Eternal Return album sheds some of the epic, melodic qualities shown on Deliver Us (2007) in favor of a raw, modern thrash metal sound that establishes this band as metal gods of this generation. Driving riffs, flawless punk-infused drums and unrestrained vocals delivering passionate lyrics are just a few of the things that make this album addictive on the first listen.

The Eternal Return showcases some of this D.C. quintet's heaviest material to date, but don't think for a second the Darkest Hour crew lost even one step on talent in this process. The loss of Kris Norris looked at first like an insurmountable defeat, but Mike "Lonestar" Carrigan takes the reigns with a professional, balls-to-the-wall attitude that demands respect and awe. I've found his riffs and solos to be much more interesting and raw than Norris', but I'm definitely not knocking the chording ability and overall prowess of Kris. Deliver Us still stands as a testament to metal guitar; kids everywhere have established covering a Kris Norris song as an accomplishment. But Carrigan is no slouch; his leads are unpredictable, fast and precise. Despite Lonestar's manic ability, the riffs machine known as Mike Schleibaum is what makes this album; his riffs and solos provide an opposing voice to Carrigan's, as they're infused with more emotion and manage to be much more diverse than Lonestar's. Every song is a fist-pumping, moshing, headbanging sign that modern metal has so much more to offer than v-neck shirts and songs about girls.

Rounding out this legendary offering is Ryan Parrish on drums and Paul Burnette on bass. To put it bluntly, this is a rhythm section not to be fucked with. Parrish never lets up, and I mourn for that snare drum but damn does he sound good. He's fast for sure, but he always makes sure to work in some rhythm to every song, which is a glaring sign that says "this dude's talented." Paul's thundering bass tone is crucial and very much the antithesis of most metal bassists, in that he actually cuts through the mix with more than an assortment of root notes. John Henry delivers an aural assault fueled by political and (anti) religious ideals. Thrash fans, metalheads, gear nerds and shred-addicts alike should get into these dudes. They've been around for over a decade for a reason: they fucking rule.

Tracklisting:

1. Devolution of Flesh
2. Death Worship
3. The Tides
4. No God
5. Bitter
6. Blessed Infection
7. Transcendence 
8. A Distorted Utopia
9. Black Sun
10. Into the Grey