With metalcore and Swedish melodic death metal both quite popular in recent times, there is no shortage of bands that are fusing elements of both genres in their sound, and Darkest Hour is precisely one such band. Musically there are clear nods to the Swedish scene but with sufficient chops and intensity to avoid the clone tag, while the vocals are the typical hoarse hardcore voice that seemingly never varies from song to song or even from word to word -- to these ears they are too one-dimensional and samey, and the songwriting also could use a bit more breadth, but the market for this kind of extreme music is still growing and Darkest Hour are a solid representative of the genre.