Darkest Hour (band)

Darkest Hour
Darkest Hour live in Barcelona in 2009. From left to right: Mike Schleibaum, Mike Carrigan and Paul Burnette.
Background information
Origin	Washington, D.C., United States
Genres	Metalcore,melodic death metal
Years active	1995–present
Labels	E1, Victory, Sumerian
Associated acts	Scar The Martyr, At the Gates, Devin Townsend, Soilwork, Animals As Leaders, Winds of Plague, Chris Carmichael, City of Caterpillar
Website	www.officialdarkesthour.com
Members	John Henry Mike Schleibaum Mike "Lonestar" Carrigan Aaron Deal Travis Orbin
Past members	Raul Mayorga Matt Maben Ryan Parrish Fred Ziomek Billups Allen Paul Burnette Mike Garrity Tommy Gun Kris Norris Timothy Java

Darkest Hour is an American heavy metal band from Washington, D.C., formed in 1995. Though failing to break early in their career, the band has received acclaim for their albums Undoing Ruin, Deliver Us, and The Eternal Return. Deliver Us debuted at number 110 on the Billboard album charts, with sales of 6,600, and their more recent effort The Eternal Return garnered them an even higher position in the Billboard album charts at number 104. Their latest self-titled effort charted at 102 on the Billboard 200, a peak for the band, and it marked a stylistic shift in the band's discography.

Darkest Hour was formed on September 23, 1995, and initially consisted of vocalist John Henry, guitarist Mike Schleibaum, bassist Raul Mayorga and drummer Matt Maben.

The band released its first EP titled The Misanthrope in 1996 on a local label called Death Truck Records. In 1996, Darkest Hour cut a single titled "Paths of Despair" for East Coast Empire Records' The Harder They Come compilation. The song proceeds at a slower, grueling tempo in comparison to the up-beat tempo the band would come to be known for. In 1999, Darkest Hour released another EP titled The Prophecy Fulfilled on another label called Art Monk Construction.

The addition of second guitarist Fred Ziomek, bassist Billups Allen and drummer Ryan Parrish saw the band release their first full-length LP The Mark of the Judas in 2000, on the now-defunct M.I.A. Records.

The Mark of the Judas was not widely promoted or distributed due to M.I.A. Records going out of business not long after the album's release.

Despite the fact Darkest Hour were left without a label, the band garnered enough exposure to catch the attention of Victory Records. Their Victory debut So Sedated, So Secure was released on August 7, 2001. After the release of the album, Billups was replaced by Paul Burnette and Ziomek left the band. The album was re-issued by Victory on March 7, 2006, and featured new artwork, re-mixed audio, re-recorded vocals and additional tracks.