The Human Romance

The Human Romance
Studio album by Darkest Hour
Released February 22, 2011
Genre Melodic death metal, melodic metalcore
Length 45:44
Label E1
Producer Peter Wichers
Darkest Hour chronology

The Eternal Return
(2009)		 The Human Romance
(2011)		 Darkest Hour
(2014)

The Human Romance is the seventh studio album by the American melodic death metal band Darkest Hour. The album was released on February 22, 2011, in North America through E1 Music,[1] and was released on March 7 in Europe through Century Media Records.[2] This would be Darkest Hour's last album with longtime drummer Ryan Parrish before he and the band parted ways in December 2011, It is also the last album with longtime bassist Paul Burnette who left the band in June 2012.

Production

The Human Romance was recorded at a North Carolina studio with producer (and Soilwork guitarist) Peter Wichers. Wichers previously helmed such acclaimed albums as All That Remains's The Fall of Ideals and Soilwork's latest effort, The Panic Broadcast. This time around, the Darkest Hour songs were composed a bit differently than was the case in the past.[3] Guitarist Mike Schleibaum explains, "We have been working on these tunes ever since we left the studio last April. 'The Eternal Return' was written during a very dark, bleak time for the band and I think that record matches that in both tone and character. Our vision was for it to be an in-your-face, no-frills aggressive assault. The new material shares in that aggression and pushes Darkest Hour beyond the unknown."[4]

Promotion and release

To promote the album, several songs were available for previewing online prior to the release of The Human Romance. These included the release of "Savor the Kill" in January,[1] and "Your Everyday Disaster" and "Love as a Weapon" in February 2011.[5][6] The entire album became available for streaming on the band's Myspace page on February 15, 2011.

Track listing

  1. "Terra Nocturnus" – 1:16
  2. "The World Engulfed in Flames" – 3:52
  3. "Savor the Kill" – 3:48
  4. "Man & Swine" – 3:44
  5. "Love as a Weapon" – 4:00
  6. "Your Everyday Disaster" – 2:48
  7. "Violent by Nature" – 2:21
  8. "Purgatory" – 3:48
  9. "Severed into Separates" – 3:29
  10. "Wound" – 3:45
  11. "Terra Solaris" – 8:41
  12. "Beyond the Life You Know" – 4:12

European bonus track

  1. "Hierarchy of Heathens" – 4:52

Critical reception

The Human Romance received generally positive reviews, with 7/10 from 'Audiopinions",[7] and 4.5/6 from "Thrash Hits" by Tom Doyle, saying: "All is, essentially, as it ought to be. Ryan Parrish’s drums are as insistent and driving as ever, Mike Schleibaum’s riffs are in turn spikey and triumphant whilst returning member Mike ‘Lonestar‘ Carrigan fills the hole left by Norris’ with an admirable contribution. There has always been an inate [sic] melodicism central to even Darkest Hour’s densest work and they have cranked this aspect of their sound to 11 on The Human Romance." and "For the fan, pretty much everything here fits the template of what you would expect, without ever pushing into the ‘exceptional’ category. There has clearly been progression since the bands [sic] early days, but over the course of these twelve songs they can appear a touch sonically one dimensional at times.".[8]

Personnel

The Human Romance album personnel as adapted from Allmusic.[9]

Darkest Hour

Additional musicians

Recording and production

Artwork

  • Paul Grosso – creative director
  • Andrew Kelley – art direction, design
  • Tom Medvedich – photography

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sciarretto, Amy (January 13, 2011). "Darkest Hour Move Forward on 'Savor the Kill' -- Song Premiere". Noisecreep. AOL Music. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Darkest Hour: Another New Song Available For Streaming". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner. February 1, 2011. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  3. ↑ "BLABBERMOUTH.NET - DARKEST HOUR's 'The Human Romance' To Receive European Release Via CENTURY MEDIA". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
  4. ↑ "DARKEST HOUR: Reveal New Album Info in Recent Interview with Metal Injection". SMNnews.com. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
  5. ↑ Paul, Aubin (February 1, 2011). "Media: Darkest Hour: 'Your Everyday Disaster'". Punknews.org. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  6. ↑ Paul, Aubin (February 15, 2011). "Media: Darkest Hour: 'Love as a Weapon'". Punknews.org. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Darkest Hour « Audiopinions". Audiopinions.net. 2011-02-13. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
  8. ↑ "Album: Darkest Hour - The Human Romance". Thrash Hits. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
  9. ↑ "The Human Romance – Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved February 12, 2011.

External links