The quest that Darkest Hour, the D.C. melodeath warriors, have been on for more than two decades is one that is wholly about tearing faces off with precision, intent, and riffs. The band’s most recent album, last year’s great Godless Prophets and Migrant Flora, showcased them knowing exactly what kind of music they wanted to make and how to make it. The focus extends to their clips, with the video for album track “Enter Oblivion” displaying the qualities of a good metal video:
- Camp out in some badlands.
- Play your song.
- Look really cool while doing so.
Videos by VICE
The boys toss in a mysterious white-robed figure as well, but by and large, this is about well-executed aesthetics, of being as loud as you want to be when there is literally no one around but the coyotes and the wind and the rocks to hear you.
“I wanted to find a location that I felt would represent the nomadic theme of the song,” says Darkest Hour vocalist John Henry, “When I came across Rainbow Basin outside of Barstow I immediately knew it was the right spot. There’s a real beauty about the bleakness and harshness of the desert which stands out as the true star of the video.” Guitarist Mike Schleibaum told Noisey that “Enter Oblivion” “…is a song for those who live outside of the borders of man and the laws of nature. For those who have found themselves in the act of constantly searching.”
Darkest Hour’s Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora is out now on CD, black vinyl LP, picture disc LP, and all digital platforms via Southern Lord; find ordering options at the label’s webstore, and via Bandcamp.
Watch the video for “Enter Oblivion” above and check the Darkest Hour’s upcoming tour dates below.
DARKEST HOUR w/ Whores, Extinction A.D.
2/16/2018 The Canal Club – Richmond, VA
2/17/2018 Arura Fest –Savanah, GA
2/18/2018 The Basement East – Nashville, TN
2/19/2018 Trixies – Louisville, KY
2/20/2018 Bogarts – Cincinnati, OH
2/21/2018 Emerson Theater – Indianapolis, IN
2/22/2018 Reggies – Chicago, IL
2/23/2018 The Loft – Lansing, MI
2/24/2018 Photo City – Rochester, NY
2/25/2018 Cattivo – Pittsburgh, PA
w/ Havok, Cephalic Carnage, Harlott:
4/05/2018 Kulttempel – Oberhausen, DE
4/06/2018 Musik & Frieden – Berlin, DE
4/07/2018 Hellraiser – Leipzig, DE
4/08/2018 Café Central – Weinheim, DE
4/09/2018 Nova Chmelnice – Prague, CZ
4/10/2018 Durer Kert – Budapest, HU
4/12/2018 Z-Bau – Nürnberg, DE
4/13/2018 Kiff – Aarau, CH
4/14/2018 CCO Villeurbanne – Lyon, FR
4/15/2018 Bóveda – Barcelona, ES
4/16/2018 Caracol – Madrid, ES
4/17/2018 Custom – Sevilla, ES
4/18/2018 Lisboa Ao Vivo – Lisbon, PT
4/20/2018 Totem – Pamplona, ES
4/21/2018 Secret Place – Montpellier, FR
4/22/2018 Petit Bain – Paris, FR
4/23/2018 Underworld – London, UK
4/24/2018 Voodoo Lounge – Dublin, IE
4/25/2018 Cathouse – Glasgow, UK
4/26/2018 Asylum – Birmingham, UK
4/27/2018 Zappa – Antwerp, BE
4/28/2018 Faust – Hannover, DE
4/29/2018 Backstage – München, DE
Phil Witmer is going dark on Twitter.
