DARKEST HOUR & THE RED CHORD @ 9:30 Club, Washington, DC - 12/21/08 Show Review by Alex Harisiadis
Robert Frost elegantly stated that "nothing gold can stay" and in the case of DARKEST HOUR's hometown show last night at the 9:30 Club in Washington, a bit of that gold was beginning to fade. One of the strongest American metal bands making noise in the underground, DARKEST HOUR always seemed poised to break through, but never really reached the upper echelons of the metal scene that their peers in KILLSWITCH ENGAGE or UNEARTH did. However, to their credit, their recorded output has always had an unparalleled level of consistency and excellence. Their two most recent albums Undoing Ruin and Deliver Us saw their songwriting flourish, thanks in no small part to now ex-guitarist Kris Norris. When the news broke that Kris Norris had left the band, many fans (myself included) were incredibly disheartened and concerned for the band's future. Would their songwriting continue down the melodic path they embarked on with Norris or would they return to their Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation sound? This hometown show was a first glimpse of the post-Norris era.
Yet, before the answers to those questions were to be revealed, THE RED CHORD (now in four-piece form) took to the stage with their chaotic grind/metal/rawkcore hybrid and displayed that they are a sheer force of awesome. Not only was the band an example of precision and force, but they also provided an extremely entertaining and fun stage presence. Though this is no secret of their live show, the band is extremely funny on stage. Whether they were singing soulful, three-part harmonized countdowns of "ah-1, and ah-2, and ah-3" before blasting into a song or imploring the crowd to "MOUNTAIN DEW THIS!" before a breakdown, THE RED CHORD knows that it is all about having fun at the end of the day. When they were not tickling our funny bones, THE RED CHORD performed thunderous renditions of songs from their catalogue. The songs "Antman" and "Dreaming In Dog Years" thundered out of the 9:30's soundsystem and the performance of the latter was particularly impressive with guitarist Mike McKenzie playing the parts of two guitarists. Sadly, with a nod to our Frost theme, THE RED CHORD had to bid adieu as the lyrics "It's not going to be alright/it's not going to be okay" from "Dreaming In Dog Years" continued to ring in our ears.
Finally, DARKEST HOUR was set to take the stage for one of their first post-Norris shows. However, we were treated to a truly excellent pre-show soundtrack featuring classics from MOTLEY CRUE and FOREIGNER among others. Perhaps it would either serve as a distraction tactic or as an amuse oreille to set the mood. Whatever the case, I'm not sure I expected what I was about to witness.
DARKEST HOUR finally took to the stage amidst dark synth chords and unfurled their vintage, Sadist Nation-era banner. The banner was a seemingly conscious decision by the band to signal to the audience that they were going to be returning to their AT THE GATES-worship roots, they would have been better suited to restrict their setlist to songs from albums no more recent than Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation. DARKEST HOUR's set was characterized by their typical energy, but significantly hampered by an uncharacteristic sloppiness and overwhelming amounts of gain. While it goes without saying, new guitarist Mike Carrigan has some very big shoes to fill, and based on what we witnessed last night, he is still very green. Solos from some songs on Undoing Ruin and Deliver Us were imprecise and, unfortunately, accentuated by Carrigan's use of a Washburn Stratocaster-style guitar. The twanginess of the Washburn signficantly redefines DARKEST HOUR's overall tone and results in a perplexing incongruity. However, Carrigan and guitarist Mike Schleibaum's rhythm parts were still robust, though occasionally, the timing was a bit off. Furthermore, Carrigan quite ably handled the solo from "Tunguska."
Still, what I saw last night was disheartening. You will not find a bigger fan of DARKEST HOUR than me. Still, I cannot help but wonder if this is a temporary stumbling block for a great band or indicative of a slow decline. Carrigan still has a lot of work to do, but given that he stepped in very quickly after the announcement of Norris's departure, he did prove himself competent. However, the rest of the band's sloppiness was uncharacteristic and I hope, along with the rest of the DARKEST HOUR fanbase, that this was just a temporary aberration.
