Dat we merkbaar onder de indruk waren van wat de jongens van Darkest Hour ons op hun laatste album 'The human romance' lieten horen kon je al uit onze review van dat album opmaken. We vonden het dan ook niet meer dan gepast om één van deze jongens voor een vraaggesprekje aan de haren te trekken. We vonden ons slachtoffer in drummer Ryan Parrish. We spraken met hem over de nieuwe plaat, en heden, verleden en toekomst van Darkest Hour.
This album uses a lot of melody. Was that a reason you chose for Peter Wichers(soilwork) as a producer? Or is it the other way around and did he influence the material you wrote?
The reason for bringing Peter in to help produce this album was simply because he know exactly what we were trying to achieve musically. He comes from one of the most influential melodic death metal bands, Soilwork, and has a very firm grasp on the genre. His influence was heavily reciprocated in the pre-production phase and his ideas were really unique. It was an all around amazing experience.
Personally I would say the human romance is a key album in your discography. How do you look at it and how do you place it among its predecessors?
It definitely is a key album in our catalog. I place it above our previous albums because I feel like we really tapped into our abilities and honed our energies and strengths into each and every song on "The Human Romance".
I honestly feel that Darkest Hour could have been much bigger than it is now. Do you agree with me on that?
I do. We aren't ones to talk our band up, but I definitely feel like Darkest Hour is a very unappreciated and underrated band in metal. In all honesty, that's not what's important to us. As long as we produce quality albums and the people that do appreciate it keep supporting us, we will keep making music. It would be nice to be more noticed, but it's not the "make or break" for us.
The songs feel very emotional. Unfortunately, there weren’t any lyrics with the promo I’ve been handed but is there some kind of story, or a theme throughout the album?
The album focusses on human interaction and behavior. The lyrics are an in depth look at why we love, hate, fight, save, fuck, create, and destroy. It's a very intriguing album lyrically.
Here in Europe the record will be released through century media, but in the United States it’s coming out through E1 records. Since you’ve been with victory records for nearly a decade before, was the step to a other label a hard one?
Not at all. E1 showed us so much enthusiasm for our new project as well as shared our vision of what the band needed to do in the future, that we had no problem signing to them. So, leaving Victory and moving onward was a no brainer.
The European part of the tour ends on the 12th of February, yet the release of the album is due a month later. Touring without a product seems like a bit of a weird strategy. How do you explain this?
The European tour we did before the release of the new album wasn't really about the new album. "The Legacy" tour was primarily a celebration of our 15 years as a band. We played songs off of all our releases, including one new song from "The Human Romance" as sort of a thank you to all of our older and newer fans. It was amazing!
You’ll probably be touring a lot for the new album. Are there places where you would like to play but haven’t yet been able to? And what are the place you like to perform most of all?
We would love to play in Istanbul, Turkey. Also, any and all of the Asian countries. We would love to also play in South Africa. Anywhere and everywhere really...hit us up if you wanna see DH live in your city! Our favorite spots in Europe are Budapest, Athens, and several spots in Germany. All and all, Europe likes to thrash and we enjoy every stop!
The band exists for a mere 16 years now. When you started, did you ever expect that you would still be playing with Darkest Hour after such a long time?
Not at all, yet, I never saw myself doing anything else. It's been a hell of a ride and I would do it all again the exact same way if I had to.
With this new album, the future is looking bright for you guys. What do you hope it will bring for Darkest Hour?
I hope more people will get into the band. It's always nice to see new faces and new fans at shows. If you haven't checked us out yet, it's never too late! Give it a shot!
Do you have any last words for our readers?
Thank you for the interview, first of all. To all of you reading this, thanks for taking the time to read it. If you're a fan, we hope to see you in the pit soon and if you're not, pick up "The Human Romance" and listen to what you've been missing! Party!
