Search - Darkest Hour :: Mark of the Judas

Swedish death metal from the east coast

Roberta Schiz | 07/27/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Even though there are about 4000 miles separating the northeast coast of America and the town of Gothenburg, Sweden, you'd never know it when listening to many of today's new school hardcore bands. New England's Shadows Fall, Boston's Sevenday Curse and Vermont's Non Compos all bear the Swedish scene's trademark up tempo rhythms, punchy, barked vocals and dual melodic guitar harmonies that wouldn't sound out of place on any Iron Maiden record. So it's bands like In Flames, Entombed, Dark Tranquillity and the late, great At the Gates who practically constructed the scene that Virginia's Darkest Hour, who've been kicking around for nearly five years now, wish so dearly to be part of. So much so, in fact, that the quintet's second LP, The Mark of the Judas, could have just as easily been produced at Sunlight Studios with Swedish überproducer Thomas Skogsburg at the helm, though it was actually engineered with Brian McTernan (Cave In, Drowningman) at Salad Days studios in D.C. While their recording venue may give them some hardcore credibility, The Mark of the Judas is 100% metal through and through. Tight, polished, if somewhat samey, apart from the beautiful acoustic interlude of instrumental "Part II," Judas won't break down any creative genre constraints. Although it goes some way in demonstrating that big pants can be just as mighty as the old spiked armlet."