Darkest Hour: 25 Years of DIY Death Metal
A lot can change over 25 years, especially when you’re in a band. This year marks 25 years since DARKEST HOUR formed and guitarist Mike Schleibaum has a lot to look back on. Despite being a melodic death metal band, DARKEST HOUR have always been proud of their hardcore roots. Especially when you look at the history of the hardcore scene in Washington. This DIY hardcore ethic has always been in the band’s DNA for the last 25 years.
One thing Mike seems really proud of right now is the recent launch of the band’s Patreon as part of their 25 year celebration and how this feels like a natural continuation of their DIY roots. “We’ve put out our first 7 inch. Which was a cover of a MINOR THREAT song and a cover of a BLACK FLAG song. It’s an homage to our DIY punk heroes. Then we’re are gonna continue on that platform to put out some special releases for people along the way.” He goes on to explain how the use of crowd funding has freed the band from having to rely on labels and given them complete control. “The band is 100% controlled by the five of us, it’s totally DIY now and has been that way since the start of the Godless Prophets cycle. It’s a new era where we’re not afraid to do all this work ourselves. Like we pack everything and post it out ourselves now”.
Crowdfunding is nothing new for DARKEST HOUR as it helped fund their last album Godless Prophets & the Migrant Flora. This was what helped set the band on their current course of being totally self controlled now, even if it wasn’t the most popular choice to begin with. “I think the noise on the internet helped. Like first it was ‘this band that could be on all these labels are gonna do this, what a bunch of idiots’. Then it changed to ‘oh shit they raised 80 grand and got Kurt Ballou‘. And this was because we didn’t go with what a label wanted. We just hit up Kurt and said ‘hey remember when we played with CONVERGE all those times, everyone says we should do an album with you lets do it’. I know Kurt isn’t the biggest DARKEST HOUR fan but he bought so much passion into that project, he did an amazing job. I think once that happened and people heard the album it all just worked.”
Going back to the band’s beginning and the release of that debut, DARKEST HOUR were very much part of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal that broke through in the early 00’s. Reflecting back on this, Mike acknowledges how the band’s stubbornness at the time saw them trying to distance themselves from this scene. “For years we didn’t wanna be associated with UNEARTH or any of those bands, we were taught by the infrastructure of managers and labels that we were in competition with these bands.” It’s very clear how things have changed now and he seems happier for it and the band have just fully embraced where they are in the music scene. “We didn’t like the metalcore moniker or whatever. But now we’ve just accepted who we are. And we know our fans like these similar bands. Like we did that tour with MISERY SIGNALS and UNEARTH and it was sick.”
Being in a band for as long as Mike has certainly isn’t easy and it’s something he knows might not have been possible with the support he had from those around him. “I’ve been lucky enough to persevere through these and I have a really solid support structure at home. My wife has been with me 20 years. She’s watched the entire rise of the band and has 100% supported me through every tough period. John [Henry, vocals], our singer’s mum really supported us too. Not financially but like in the early years when we needed someone to co-sign on the vehicle. Like we were so young and we needed someone to help us with all this, she’d let us practice in her house too. My parents were never into the band. So without these people, Tito our tour manager as well. We would not have been able to push through the hard times.”
Closing out, Mike looks ahead to the new album and what is coming next for DARKEST HOUR. “We could just put it out now if we wanted to. I don’t know if its good enough yet though. There’s still things we wanna do”. With this being the band’s tenth album he is determined for it to be the best it can be. “This has gotta be something new yet classic. It’s gotta be DARKEST HOUR but in a way you weren’t expecting. How can it be all those things? It just has to be. It’s gotta have that badass art that catches your eye right away. It’s gotta be all those things in an age where people don’t pay attention to those details cos you can just throw it out on Spotify. It’s up to us to put it together and it will reflect on us forever once it’s out.” So whilst a lot of things have changed in the last 25 years, it’s very clear that Mike has not lost any of his passion or pride in DARKEST HOUR and that is no doubt something that will keep the band going for years to come.
So this year also marks 20 years of the debut as well, how do you feel looking back on that album
Mike: I love it, it’s one of my favourites of our albums. I mean I like and am proud of all of our albums but The Mark Of The Judas holds a special place. It’s simple and doesn’t have loads of other shit going on but it’s totally DARKEST HOUR. In the recent sets we’re playing the title track which we’ve never played live in Europe. I’m just so proud of where we started with that album. I just love all our albums though. I think we’re lucky enough to have the perspective to look back on all our albums positively.
So aside from the lineup changes, what do you think are the most significant ways DARKEST HOUR has evolved over the years?
Mike: I think as the lineup developed the band was actually able perform the music the way it was recorded. I think it took some time for us to develop but I think we’re at the point now where I don’t think we’ve ever played better. The band just looks, sounds and is insanely better. And that’s the thing we are most proud of and the joy in that work is what’s kept us around. Like we really enjoyed learning how to get that good.
So does it feel like even after 25 years you’re still learning new stuff?
Mike: Yeah always, you have to be willing to learn. We have tons of little DARKEST HOUR sayings, we’ve got them tattooed all over us. But the one we say a lot lately is “the most dangerous thing to say is this is how we always do things”. So we change shit up a lot. Some times you make mistakes but sometimes you just break out of this bubble you’re living in and when that happens it’s a reminder of exactly why we do this.
What would you say have been the most significant moments over the last 25 years then?
Mike: Recording the first album with Brian McTernan. The 2004 Ozzfest. The two albums we recorded with Devin Townsend. Both times we spent six or seven weeks with motherfucking Devin Townsend. And then our two world tours with MACHINE HEAD. And then that kinda brings us up to here with the other big point being when we were able to crowdfund that album. A lot of our peers made fun of us for trying. Record labels and management said it wouldn’t work so that was a real milestone. As a band we’ve been lucky to have several amazing moments along the way and when you hit them that will give you some fuel to keep going.
Did you ever think when you started that 25 years later you’d still be here?
Mike: I get asked this a lot and the answer is you can’t even have the DNA to answer that question if you wanna survive. It’s like you’re like a shark, if you stop moving you can’t breathe. It’s not “will we be able to survive” it’s more “how do we survive”.
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