Darkest Hour - Hidden Hands Of A Sadist Nation

Darkest Hour
Hidden Hands Of A Sadist Nation
Victory Records
Grade: A-

The speed-metallic-hardcore five piece are back with an even more punishing album then their first stellar record for Victory Records So Sedated, So Secure. Clearly, Darkest Hour has moved further into the death metal cauldrons on this release. This record was actually recorded at the home of Swedish death metal Gothenburg, Sweden by the hands of producer Fredick Nordstrom, producer of records by Cradle of Filth and In Flames, among others. After eight years of kicking around metal riffs to a small cadre of adheres, Hidden Hands of A Sadist Nation seeks a more intense and international following. The record is so tight that it is intimidating. If Darkest Hour is this tight live then they have to be counted among the best in metal. The record kicks off with "The Sadist Nation," a song that is fast and brutal, with some amazingly quick guitar playing. As such, "The Sadist Nation" sets up what is to come on the rest of the record. "Pay Phones and Pills" again plays on the speed-metal guitars and closes with a metal-ballad movement. As with most of the nine songs on the record, "Pay Phones and Pills" clocks in at around six minutes. This is followed by "Oklahoma," an homage to being detained by the Feds in Oklahoma for obvious un-American motives. Other vicious songs tackle post-9/11 patriotism and miliarism including "Marching to the Killing Rhythm" and "The Patriot Virus." Other notable tracks include "Seven Day Lie" and "Accessible Losses." Darkest Hour closes out the record with a thirteen-minute instrumental moving across the sound spectrum called "Veritas, Aequitas." As a special treat for Darkest Hour's metal fans, there are guest appearances by some kings of Swedish metal including Tomas Lindberg (At The Gates), Peter Wichers (Soilwork), Anders Bjorler (The Haunted) and Marcus Suneson (The Crown). Though Darkest Hour have toured with luminaries such as Six Feet Under, Dillinger Escape Plan and Drowingman, I think that one tour with such metal powerhouses as Slayer or Pantera (or even on the Ozzfest) would easily propel them to the top of the metal world. It worked for less-musically talented Hatebreed, so why not Darkest Hour.