Search - Solitude Aeturnus :: Through the Darkest Hour

You NEED to hear these guys

leeya | Orange, CA USA | 03/31/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the third album from Solitude Aeturnus, but the first one I bought. I only wish I'd heard this band long before! First, for perspective, a little about the band itself: Solitude Aeturnus is a "Doom metal" band, so their lyrics are less than optomistic, and the music is for the most part slow and heavy. Black Sabbath is one of their influences, apparently. What sets this band apart from other doom metal bands, in my opinion, is the quality of musicianship and the singer's voice. (I'm no expert on doom metal, though.) The vocalist doesn't try to sound scary or even scream much, he just has a naturally great voice for this type of music.Now, about this particular album: Of the three Solitude Aeturnus albums I've bought so far, this seems to be one of the better ones. (Their debut album is also awesome, a couple of songs on the fourth album "Downfall" are slightly weaker, but still very good.) The music on "Through the Darkest Hour" is slow, but still remains captivating. After years of listening to Slayer and Metallica and such, I'm just learning that slower metal can be a good thing! And some of the songs really aren't all that slow, after all.It's really a mystery to me why Solitude Aeturnus isn't much much more well known. This is a great album from a great band."

A doom *masterpiece*

C. Lira | Washington state, USA | 04/01/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am a big fan of the doom genre- bands like Solitude Aeturnus, Candlemass, Veni Domine, etc. Solitude A is my favorite of all of them, and 'Through the Darkest Hour' is my favorite SA title (though they're all good). It just doesn't come any better than this- thick, heavy guitar over an incredible rhythm section and the stunning vocals of Robert Lowe. Lowe has one of the best voices in all of metal- an incredible midrange voice than can convey sorrow (Shattered My Spirit) and well as power (Falling). He doesn't go out of his range, and his control is just superb. This is a solid CD all the way through, and highly recommended to fans of the genre in patricular, and metal fans in general."

Great Doom Metal by a Great Band

Kyussopeth | Ft. Myers, FL USA | 12/03/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Solitude Aeturnus craft a truly sullen masterpiece on this their 3rd album. A bombastic, menacing, hopeless metal dirge sung with lamentable beauty by the incomparable Robert Lowe. Solitude Aeturnus is the only Doom Metal band that can compare favorably to Black Sabbath. Solitude's power and talent eclipses even the mighty Candlemass. Through the Darkest Hour epitomizes Epic Doom Metal They may not have created Epic Doom, but they have distilled it perfectly. In the hands of a lesser band a song like "Pain" would come across as trite or even juvenile, but Robert Lowe sings it as if his life depended on it being taken seriously.



Through the Darkest Hour is a collection 9 well written, well performed paens to despair only the lackluster production mars this otherwise perfect album."