Darkest Era have been around since 2008, but here on their third full length album manage not only to overcome themselves, but also to offer us one of the most beautiful metal albums in 2022. More mature than ever, to the point that at first, I couldn’t believe this was the same band I’ve heard years ago. It seems, the star of inspiration guided them to get in the studio and get out with their best ever work.
If you want to get an idea about how their music sounds like, think about the epic tunes of Primordial or Ereb Altor, think also the folk references on the guitar riffing of Amorphis, but also think about a dedicated doom metal band that doesn’t hesitate to accelerate by using aggressive blast beats. What is impressive about them is the fact that although they don’t lose their metal point of view, at the same time they offer an incredible lyrical and melancholy approach that gives those extra points to the final result; a result that is full of pure feeling and this will hit directly in the heart of the fans, especially the doomsters. Many years ago we saw them live at Up The Hammers festival but believe me, Darkest Era of today have nothing to do with that young immature band.
The album is full of catchy rich guitar riffing by Ade Mulgrew and Sarah Wieghell and a steady rhythm section by Daniel O’Toole (bass) and Cameron Ahslund-Glass (drums), but it would be so wrong not to highlight the incredible vocal performance by Krum. What we get here is a really impressive performance that sometimes brings to mind Alan Averill (here we go again with Primordial), while at other times he is into the shoes of Ray Alder and by this wide range Krum manages to give that extra point to the final result, as he is really capable to transfer the emotion and despair of his lyrics. These north-Irish guys managed to release a great album with a spontaneous epic feeling and some melodies that can put you into a great music trip…
