Customer Reviews

Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"I grew out of the hardcore scene," blah blah blah "ah, the ac/dc of the metalcore scene" blah blah blah "this band is good but only ok after you slept with the lead singer." WTF? What the hell are you people doing writing reviews for this album in the first place? Just reading the first sentence of your reviews prove you are not worthy of what this band has to offer.

Don't listen to any of these morons; this album is godly. As good as if not better than the Mark of Judas and a masterpiece of swedish-influenced metal (yes METAL, not METALCORE, as there are no core breakdowns, as the doofus mistakenly mentioned in the aforementioned review). The vocals and lyrics are distinctly American, which is a definate plus. In fact, the entire album is basically a social commentary on the state of the union...all wrapped up in a brutal yet beautiful assault on your senses. The Sadist Nation is really excellent from start to finish, and ends with an almost 13-minute instrumental opus. If you get the new reissue, it contains a nice dvd and an extra track, "For The Soul Of The Savior" from the Mark of Judas but is rerecorded. Definately the better version of an excellent song. For fans of At the Gates, in flames, beyond the sixth seal, unearth etc.

.... by the metal gods Darkest Hour. And I love every minute of it!!! This has instantly vaulted its way right up the list of my favorite melodic death albums and has a permanent position behind At The Gates SOTS. Hell, this is the closest sounding thing I've probably ever heard to that album anyway. Some people had originally told me that this is a metalcore band, but unless the other Gothenburg bands are metalcore, then these people are dead wrong. This album is so punishing, it is difficult to listen to without flipping out. The drums are beyond insane, blindingly fast and precise. The vocals are brutal, very acidic, and just plain awesome. The guitar riffs shred mercilessly, but have a gentle touch due to the melodic tones. Every song is a winner, but the epic Accessible Losses and Pay Phones & Pills stand out the most. Go buy, a must have for any melodeath collection.

First and foremost I would have to agree with anyone here saying this band isn't metalcore, because they're NOT! No breakdowns. On a metalcore record label? Yes... But Unearth is metalcore and they are on metalblade records which is a metal label, but no one changes the tag there do they? Now this band I would have to consider more of an American Melodic Metal/Death Metal band, which was originated from Sweden and the scandinavian countries. Influences by: In Flames, Dark Tranquility, At The Gates, Soilwork, etc... (and you can't argue, they went so Sweden to have those guys write some dual solos on this album.) But these guys are great and I'm happy they know their roots instead of making a cd that sounds like the majority of the swedish influenced metalcore bands here in America. These guys actually had the balls to write some REAL METAL. This cd is nothing short of amazing and a soothing breath of fresh air, nothing but blazing, frantic, and yet, very beautiful guitar riffing. They have some slow mosh parts without going through the cliche' of writing a breakdown. These guys know how to thrash seriously! If you are interested in another Melodic Death Metal band, check out The Black Dahlia Murder. THEY'RE NOT METALCORE EITHER!

Anyway, this is easily one of the best cds I've heard in a long time. Even though these guys aren't from Sweden, this is still one of the best pieces of Gothenburg metal I've heard. The cd opens with the title track, and from start to finish, nothing but but fast, heavy, melodic guitar parts, with awesome vocals and awesome drum fills. And that sets the tone for the whole cd.

Every song on this cd is awesome, each with unique parts.Each song keeps the melodic guitar parts at the same time, except for the song Okalahoma, which sounds like a hardcore black metal song, (they use the blast beat).

The bottom line, is that this is a very talented band, and this is an aweso cd. Anyone who likes anything heavy should own this, this is one of the best albums ever.

Wow, this newest offering from darkest hour is absolutely stunning. Fans of dh know that they've been churning out amazing metalcore for years. Each new release has upped the ante from the previous recording, and this one is no exception, as they've somehow managed to make their most Hardcore AND Metal sounding record to date. Lyrically, this record is pure hardcore, as John Henry goes ballistic on the sad state of the world today. It's refreshing to hear a dissenting voice to counter all the flag-waving mooks that deify Bush Junior and Team USA's every word and action. Musically, all the hardcore elements are still there, but the ghosts of Studio Fredman have really imbued this disc with a bigger dose of Metal than has been present in their past recordings. This is all thanks to some awesome cameo guitar solos (SOLOS!!) by Anders Bjorler and Peter Wichers. The disc's Metal leanings culminate in an instrumental ("Veritas, Aequitas") reminiscent of Metallica's "Orion". Death Metal heads will think I'm a square for drawing this comparison, but check it out - the length, power, pacing, melodicism, and compositional complexity bear this out. Personally, I'm more of a hardcore fan, but the classic Metal elements here are awesome and don't get in the way of the disc's hardcore power.

Overall, dh's composition just keeps getting better and better. I can't name standout tracks because every track gets better with repeated listening. So do yourself a favor and buy this record.

Don't let these scenester pricks change your view on ANY record. They are elitists who think you should listen to the newest wave of emotional and poltical garbage. Darkest Hour's new record is nothing like their previous ones but keeps a certain sound that lets you know this is STILL the same Darkest Hour. They went a little weird with So Sedated, but it was still a great record. This new one however, every single track is awesome. I'm not going to do a song by song analysis or anything, download the album and then see for yourself if it's good. I did, and bought it. I got it the day it came out at their CD release show and have listened to it almost everyday since. A great live band too. Guitar nerds: the 12 minute instrumental will have you nutting, Kris Norris is probably the best thing to happen to Darkest Hour in a long time. Solos ARE present on this album.

I've actually had this CD on my computer for over a month. If you are a fan of Gothenburg metal, this is for you! The vocals are conspiciously American, for they are an American band, after all. Actually, they are a American hardcore band, but this is a Gothenburg CD, recorded in Gothenburg, Sweden. This CD defines Gothenburg, this CD defines kick ... you know. There isn't much to say about this, though nothing on this CD screams "talented", it is not at all lacking.

GOTHENBURG RULES!!! BUY THIS!!!

this is a pretty good record. i play guitar and i heard these guys have "crazy guitar work" so i picked it up. i gave it a few listens, and although it's really fast it's not that technical. the songs are all good songs though for just like straight up "thrash metal" i guess you could call it. it's like killswitch engage but actually good, and they keep it heavy throughout the cd. if you were into city of the catepillar, and you think because these guys have members that they'll sound like cotc you're wrong, but if you're into slayer, maiden, or just fast metal in general you'll probably be into this band/album.

Darkest Hour is great Gothenburg-influenced melodic metal that gets the blood rushing and leaves the listener pleased. They're not like every other metalcore band these days. Hell, they really ain't "metalcore". They tend to lay off the breakdowns and focus more on speed and melody. More thrash, less "core".

Recommended.

Wow...what can I say. This album is amazing. The first Darkest Hour CD that I bought was Undoing Ruin, which I thought was pretty damn good. So then I went and bought their older CD, Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation. Holy crap do I love this CD. It really doesn't sound much like Undoing Ruin actually, but I like it better.
Hidden Hands is a WHOLE HOUR of pure thrashcore energy. I was amazed that each song is four or more minutes long -- none of it is filler either. Each and every song has so much energy behind it, I don't know how the band memebers are able to pull it off without dying of exhaustion. I die of exhaustion every time I hear "Oklahoma". Whenever I hear that song, I can't help but just bang my head to the full four minutes of it.
While Undoing Ruin is great on record, Hidden Hands also captures the essence of a live show.