Darkest Hour is from Washington D.C. and has previously released a full length ("So Sedated, So Secure") on Victory Records. "Hidden Hands of A Sadist Nation" was recorded in Gothenburg, Sweden by Fredrik Nordström.
Having a stack of stuff to review, my usual procedure is to give everything a quick listen to get an idea of what's ahead before I give each individual attention. After putting this in, I have yet to take it back out. It's not that Darkest Hour is doing anything that's radically different, but they've connected for a great metal album from the writing to the recording and everything in between. Having traveled to Sweden to get the sound just right, the end result was capturing Darkest Hour perfectly. In the land that's known for great metal, Darkest Hour has come up with a fast paced hard-hitting CD of adrenalized inspiration. In previously saying that there isn't anything radically new, what I meant was you can expect double bass, leering guitar leads, and gut wrenching vocals. But Darkest Hour just does all those things so well that they surpass most of those who have done it before. Remember when the scene was less about image and more about the music? Well this will take you back to when you didn't just listen to music but you were excited by it. If you have any interest in metal or hardcore you're going to want this on your shelf.
A-
