Review Summary: On the surface, Hidden Hands of A Sadist Nation is brutal and daunting; however, underneath the slithering, toned-down guitars, the frantic drums and the fierce screams, there lies a thing of near beauty--a thing that one will grow to love.
"A nation of sadists is what you are breeding," screams John Henry in album opener The Sadist Nation. For the longest time I never knew what sadism was (I always associated it with being sadistic, or perhaps in relation to sodomy, haha), but as I grew more interested in this release, I checked out the definition. It means to have a love of cruelty. In learning this definition, I also gained a new appreciation for the album itself. It's as if that one word is the key to this albums mysteries . . . and mysteries are abundant here, no doubt.
Hidden Hands is unlike anything else in Darkest Hours' category. The albums predeccesor--So Sedated, So Secure--was largely slowed down, and utilized more of an At the Gates riffing style; whereas the album afterword--Undoing Ruin, as you all know--was tighter, more melodious and mature. Hidden Hands is by far the thrashiest album they ever wrote, and because of that, it's generally disliked by critics. I didn't like it for quite some time either, due to vocalist John Henry's maniacal scream and the bands' unreletless instrument-***ing. But the other day I sat down to listen to it (or to try, then turn it off), and this time I had the lyric booklet open in front of me. Thats when I discovered the mysteries that lie beneath the near impenetrable brutality of the Sadist Nation.
On the surface, the lyrics feel kind of lame. However, after a few spins--after you can sing along--you start to feel just what the lyrics are there for. They're primarily political, but unlike most political lyrics. They talk about how our nation is "....under the gun; twisted traditions and archaic value systems", and how, "we live where flags can buy more than others' lives, where it's fashion to show your love for homocide". The lyrics themselves do little for me, but when John Henry lets me know about it, boy, I get chills. There are two songs--two really good songs--that deal with topics unrelated to politics. The first one is called Pay Phones and Pills. This one has a catchy opening riff which leads to the pounding verses, and eventually the chorus. After the chorus ended, I felt as though the song was rather lackluster in comparison to the majestic album opener--thats when the excellent bridge came in. Henry screams "waking up to realize its not a dream was the hardest thing" and my jaw dropped foward. The song closes with an extended and slowed down guitar piece, which gives a nice touch to the first half of the album. The other song I mentioned is called Seven Day Lie, which has a fabulously catchy chorus and touching lyrics--my favorite being "this will happen to you, and you'll feel the pain of being used". Once again, it's rather useless to read--let Henry give you the scoop.
The song composition is one of the highlights of the Sadist Nation. Literally none of the songs follow the same formula. The opener, The Sadist Nation, has thrashy verses and an ultimately catchy chorus; the song builds up massive amounts of momentum, then throws it all at you with the last minute (they even got Thomas Lindberg to lend a hand here). Oklahoma has the general speed-riffing and a pummelingly fast chorus. About a minute and half in, the song breaks apart into a weird sound effect, then steps slowly back into the song, allowing time for the speed to come back naturally. Seven Day Lie slows thing downs a bit, and then Accessible Losses comes in and spreads it's massive eight minutes out all over you. Honestly, upon first hearing the song, I thought little of it. However, like with the rest of the album, repitition allowed me to appreciate its nuances. The first four minutes are killer, then clean-tuned guitars come in and play appreciably for the next two minutes. The remainder of the song sounds like the first part did. Veritas, Aequitas is a twelve minute instrumental. I wont go into detail about it, but it's a fitting end to the album--even if it does drag on and lack replayability. The album is kind of lop-sided--the first five songs are blaringly fast and nearly flawless; the second half is slower. It's as if the band recorded the first half all in one shot, and by the time The Misinformation Age ended, they were just to tired to keep the pace up. The songs are good, but they're hard to get into. Once you can get past the brutality and hear the underlying message of melody, you'll enjoy the album much more.
The musicianship is all pretty good. Guitarists' Mike Schleibaum and Kris Norris did a good job, yet they left me feeling a little jipped because I was introduced to their later albums, all of which have insane leads. The album is devoid of solos, save the short-lived one in The Misinformation Age (which was performed by Anders Björler of the Haunted) and a few solos in Verita's, Aequitas, performed by Peter Wichers of Soilwork, and Marcus Sunnesson of the Crown. The guitar riffs sit in some musical current behind the vocalist; adding to the song, rather than stealing it away. Ryan Parrish's drum work is great. He does a fantastic job of setting the pace on this album; when the songs slow down, it's because he needs a break, and when the songs speed up, it's because he mainlined some meth. The bassist--Paul Burnette--is nearly inaudible, doing nothing but laying low for the guitarists to do they're thing. John Henry's vocals are a brutal mix between screaming and yelling; the pitch is generally the same, with some slight variations. Think of how he sounded on Undoing Ruin--it's basically the same as that, except here on Hidden Hands, he's way more pissed off.
On the surface, Hidden Hands of A Sadist Nation is brutal and daunting; however, underneath the slithering, toned-down guitars, the frantic drums and the fierce screams, there lies a thing of near beauty--a thing that one will grow to love.
Album highlights: The Sadist Nation, Marching to the Killing Rhythm, and The Misinformation Age.
