Thrashers from the U.S. capital Darkest Hour played to a half-full Fowlers Live, in Adelaide last Thursday night. The metal-hardcore group was in South Australia as part of its second Australian tour in 13 months. The all-ages show began with a set by Adelaide group Abandon All Hope. The quintet ripped through 20 minutes of dual-guitar riffing, punctuated by melody and blastbeats. Clean-cut singer Micah’s guttural vocals were a highlight. Signed to Melbourne hardcore label Washed Up Records, the promising young group releases an EP in July.

Melbourne metal act Picture The End was the next support. The group’s mid-paced set combined elements of death metal, rock, and Pantera-influenced riffing. Earnest vocalist Rob Taylor pointed his finger, cursed and hit his chest as he paced the front of the stage. But his gesturing could not compensate for the fact his vocals were buried within the mix for most of the 30-minute set.

Tasmania’s Psycroptic followed Picture The End. In contrast to the two developing acts prior, Psycroptic appears to be at the top of its game. After touring extensively and releasing three albums, the death-metal quartet is a tight, technical and heavy unit. Tonight the group blasted out seven or so songs from, as far as I could tell, first two long-plays Isle of Disenchantment and The Scepter of the Ancients, and most recent album Symbols of Failure, released on Neurotic Records. Imposing vocalist Jason Peppiatt alternated between growling and screaming, as he lurched back and forth. Framing him were guitarist Joe Haley and bass player Cameron Grant, both precise and technical players. A track from the group’s first record triggered the night’s first small mosh pit. Underpinning Psycroptic’s barrage was drummer Dave Haley, whose command of such a large kit, including two bass drums, was compelling to watch.

Headliners Darkest Hour took to the stage next. Signed to slick hardcore label Victory Records, the group was one of the trailblazers of the now overcrowded metalcore scene, honing its blend of thrash, metal and punk since the mid 1990s. On the second of a string of Australian dates, the Washington D.C. based group began with one of its more accessible songs, Convalescence. Mid-way through the track adept guitarist Kris Norris delivered his first solo. Wearing a t-shirt adorned with a logo of Perth progressive rock group Karnivool, Norris was clearly popular with the crowd. When he is not fulfilling his duties with Darkest Hour, Norris teaches music and has produced a guitar instruction DVD. On Thursday night he and second guitarist Mike Schleibaum engaged in dual-harmonising riffing throughout the set, peeling off to deliver frequent but rarely overdone solos. The impressive and melodic guitar work seethed and swirled over a foundation laid by bass player Paul Burnette and drummer Ryan Parrish. Countering traditional metal stereotypes, Burnette was dressed in baggy brown pants and Vans sneakers, and guitarist Schleibaum wore a v-neck t-shirt and stars-and-stripes Chuck Taylor shoes. Vocalist John Henry meanwhile encouraged a circle pit, and consulted a set list written on a piece of a Cooper’s beer carton.
The group showcased a handful of tracks from forthcoming album Deliver Us, including Stand and Receive Your Judgement; mid-paced Demon, which Henry described as – œthe scary one’; and the album’s title track, which incorporated a nice instrumental break. However, the largest number of songs was drawn from the group’s 2005 album Undoing Ruin: the popular Sound The Surrender evoked a singalong from the audience, while the guitar work in These Fevered Times prompted affectionate mimicry among Norris admirers in the crowd. Henry acknowledged the Adelaide audience for – œbeing decent people’, but at other times appeared slightly frustrated that so many people were motionless: – œDo something,’ he urged the crowd. – œYeah! Yeah! Yeah! Do something!’

The audience was finally animated by a one-two punch late in the group’s set. First was the rousing, political Sadist Nation, from the superb Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation. Then, second, the group stormed into With A Thousand Words to Say But One, from Undoing Ruin. These epic-type tracks are where I believe Darkest Hour excel, and they certainly translated well live. The group closed with Tranquil, a raging number that shifted into an extended instrumental part highlighting the intensity of Parrish’s drumming.
After Henry and company left the stage, the audience did not request an encore. Instead, recorded music was switched on, the house lights went up, and the crowd spilled on to North Terrace. For me, it was a slightly disappointing end to a night demonstrating the diversity of modern metal music.

www.darkesthour.cc