Darkest Grove – Coming of 2012 (2012)

Crushing and Hateful would be the perfect words to describe Darkest Grove’s sophomore release titled “Coming of 2012”. Conceptually dealing with the world of theories behind the supposed ‘changes’ coming in 2012, this release puts these interesting ideas in a very harsh and eerie Black Metal environment that pummels the message into your brain. This one-man band delivers in every single aspect producing nine tracks of killer US Black Metal that elevates Darkest Grove to the likes of Terratism and Nightbringer in terms of the ‘local’ US scene.

Like a hard punch to the face, “Hatred Strives…” delivers powerful waves of hateful Black Metal riffs. The track is very straight-forward and in your face, creating a very direct and chaotic atmosphere, just perfect for these kinds of releases. As the track progresses it nicely changes into a more melodic and hypnotic pace. The tremolo-picking intensity is picked up in the killer tracks “Wallowing At The Face of Evil” and “Destiny”, creating a very sick twisted atmospheres that Darkest Grove seems to have knack for. 

The experimental “Visions of An Apocalypse” is one of the best songs in this release due to its instrumental nature and excellent progression. The experimentation continues with the suicidal BM sounding “Ready To Kill”. The intricate drum patters, the weird tempo changes, and the haunting vocals of this song make it a truly memorable experience. The next standout track is the very ‘peaceful’ “Alone Eternal Pt. II” that starts with some acoustic sections and it nicely matures with very melodic interludes and some devastating traditional BM parts.

“Return of the Moon Children” is by far the best track in this release, clocking at 25 minutes, it packs way too much heat. The music slowly builds up with painful Doom-esque Black Metal riffs and very tight drums. The ending of this track is equally brilliant, something we will let the listener find out for himself.

With “The Day The World Ends” pummeling this release away (before the outro track), the band has left a great impression on us thanks to its very diverse and exhilarating brand of USBM. We can’t recommend this album enough for all fans of USBM and well-crafted BM in general.

Release: August, 2012

Genre: US Black Metal

Country: USA