Review Summary: The Human Romance is highly succsesful and monumentally enjoyable--now maybe Darkest Hour can get the fame they deserve!
I don't know about you, but I've waited a long time for this. A seriously long time. I got into Darkest Hour early last year; I heard Undoing Ruin, and honestly, I didn't like it that much--not back then, anyway. Then I head Deliver Us, and that one had me far more interested. After my initial introduction to them, I was hooked, and have been listening to them ever since. (And, for the record, have since learned to enjoy Undoing Ruin far more). So, let's get down to it. The Human Romance. Two skeletons embracing each other in a grave of dirt . . . hm. Yeah, I know, it doesn't sound to Darkest Hour-esque, does it? Nope, actually it sounds pretty awful. But don't be discouraged, because these DC melodeath heroes haven't lost their touch; in fact, their better than ever.
First I would like to mention Mr. John Henry's vocals--they happen to be a highlight, for once. Back in 2005, on Undoing Ruin, Henry's vocals were pretty monotous, right? They just kind of droned on and on in the same tone and pitch; in 2007, on Deliver Us, he took a more generic, metalcore-ish sound (you know, the scream-sing-scream-sing approach), and in 2009, on The Eternal Return, he gave us a deep and powerful roar. Those of you that disliked the performance he gave on the last record won't be disappointed here; his roar is a scream again, and higher pitched (which I prefer). Oh, and he's singing again. I mean, not really singing, but the closest thing to it. The song "Love As a Weapon" comes as close to singing as the album gets. The intro to the song is mellow and melodious; a slow little riff comes in, and then tight, technical riffing plus Henry's screams carry the song into full force. After a few verses, the chorus comes in along with the cleans, and it actually left me impressed. The cleans were utilized much better than on Deliver Us. Trust me, this isn't a bad thing at all--he pulls it off far better than he did on Deliver Us, and believe me when I say far better. He gets kind of close to singing on some other tracks, such as Violent by Nature and Beyond the Life You Know. In contrast to the monotous performance on Undoing Ruin, the vocals presented here are stuffed with twisting emotion and power. His range is highly more proficient: it goes up one second, then back down. I love it. Never before has he been this good.
The guitar work is still great, but they aren't as in-your-face- as usual. On the last two albums, guitarsts Mike Schleibaum, Kris Norris ( pre-2009) and Mike Carrigan jammed as many face melters in their songs as possible. I didn't mind; I can always dig a good solo. Yeah, and their pretty damn good at it. However, on this effort they take a totally different approach. The solos are used conservatively and tactly; when they do come, they're generally slowed down and have a sense of passion rather than blinding speed. Passionate is an apt word to describe it. By no means are the guitarists stepping down their game--Lord no--they've just grown up a bit. No longer do they sound pretenious (I never thought so, but I've heard people say it time and time again); no longer are they drawing attention to themselves. The solos are used for the sole purpose of adding texture and a dynamic feel to the songs. (I'm a guitarist myself, and don't have much of an ear for base or drums, so you'll have to excuse the blatant lack of description on both those instruments. I'm sure a more musically adept reviewer will scoff at my naivety and write a better review).
Now on to the songs themselves. They're good. They're damn good. I mentioned how the guitarists sound more mature--well, thats how the band as a whole sounds. The songs are massively textured and significantly whole; as in, each song leaves you feeling satisfied and happy. Theres no filler, save the minute long piano intro (which is rather bland and pointless, in my eyes). Even the few songs that never break the two-minute barrier are filled to the brim with refreshing twists and turns. The song Man & Swine is--for now, at least--one of my favorite cuts off the album. The chorus has a nasty, dark sort of feel to it; the solo is short yet full of colorful nuances that add to the song wonderously, and God, the climax is so good--it builds a massive wall of sound that washes over you like a tidal wave and sends chills down your body. Honestly, they haven't ever sounded so good. The song Your Everyday Disaster is one of the shorter ones, and turned out to be better than my intitial impression led me to believe. It's funny, one of the lead riffs of the song sound almost exactly like the lead in their older song This Will Outlive Us. I don't know if I'm just crazy, but it sounds really similar. The solo in Severed into Seperates is probably the best on the album, and the chorus on Wound is definetly the best--boasting deep and uplifting lyrics. I haven't been able to decipher all the lyrics yet, but so far as I can tell, they are as well thought out as usual, if not more so. They took the time to write an eight minute instrumental here (something they haven't done since Hidden Hands...) entitled Terra Solaris, and this one turned out much better than Veritas, Aequitas did. It has some phenomanal electric riffing/soloing, and switched off to acoustic about half way, then back over to the electric. It drags on for awhile, but is an overall succsesful attempt.
There's no song that I actually dislike here (which is a first--there's usually at least one that I don't like); their sound is deeper, more emotional, and more mature. They still pound out thrashy riffs, but they just do it so much better now. I know it's a dumb thing to say, but I just cannot find anything wrong with the album. It's so good in every way; combining all the greatest things the band has to offer in one solid fifty minute run time. I truly love it, and hope you will feel the same way. The Human Romance is highly succsesful and monumentally enjoyable--now maybe Darkest Hour can get the fame they deserve!
