this is my second darkest hour record in general and the second i ordered directly from victory records. that ensured to get the most limited colour-way of this recent re-press of their second full length. darkest hour was founded way back in 1995 a few e.p.'s and a compilation contribution later they released their first album 'the mark of the judas' via m.i.a. records. m.i.a. crashed soon after the album came out and so it wasn't widely distributed. art monk construction re-released it a few months later.
after that unpleasant incident darkest hour searched for a new, more solid label. they found what they were looking for in victory records. for a young, upcoming metalcore band simply the place to be in the 00's. and boy, their debut for victory is a real scorcher. their relentless mix of swedish melodic death metal and modern hardcore is breath taking. energy always at highest level and the right melodies at the right time. check out 'the hollow' and 'an epitaph' and tell you don't nod your head to the music automatically.
in 2002, a few months after the album was released on cd, victory did their first vinyl pressing of 'so sedated, so secure'. back then the label issued a lot of their records with a simple fold-over cover and a small insert. probably the cheapest way to produce them in those dark vinyl times. now, fourteen years later, victory honours this output with a deluxe vinyl edition. it comes in a proper sleeve (mine is creased and i'll lift the mystery of how i might be able to replace them in the next post), heavy duty yellow vinyl and two bonus tracks. thumbs up! 109 copies made. victory records. 2001/2016.
