A bastard child born of the mid 90s punk/metal/hardcore movement, Washington, DC’s DARKEST HOUR combine the passion, energy, and soul of punk/hardcore with the style, speed, vengeance and fury of melodic speed/thrash/death metal.

DARKEST HOUR have helped defined the entire New Wave of American Metal sound as one of the pioneers of modern metal/core. A sound that gave the metal and hardcore/punk world the revitalization it surely needed. This style blended the raw, hardcore punk of the 80s, with the Scandinavian death metal of the 90s and forged a sound that would later become the template for modern metal.

Since their inception 23 years ago, Darkest Hour has released 9 studio full lengths (via 11 different record labels), appeared in major motion pictures, US television shows, video games, and have toured the world extensively covering 6 of the 7 continents.

Darkest Hour is: Mike Schleibaum – Guitar John Henry – Vocals Nico Santora – Guitar Aaron Deal – Bass Travis Orbin – Drums

Brandishing a unique blend of furious thrash and death metal like a weapon of mass destruction, I AM is purely no-nonsense in their patented “Texas Death” assault. Armed with riffs, speed, and overwhelming power, “I AM writes songs that make you want to move” (Decibel Magazine). 
 Across three full-length slabs of bludgeoning intensity and snarling rage, I AM put a Southern stamp and revitalized swagger into deathcore, a subgenre rarely as raw, energized, and diverse as this band. In the spirit of fellow Southern icons Pantera and newer Texan heroes Power Trip, I AM channels discontent and anger into empowering anthems, as likely to inspire a grueling workout as to incite the pit. Reminiscent of the combination of death metal heaviness and thrash metal speed found in the early catalog of Sepultura, I AM mines the heaviness of Morbid Angel and the dexterity of the Big 4 to create something groundbreaking of their own. Vocalist Andrew Hileman — who started the band in 2011– guitarists Tom Reyes and Chris Burgess, bassist Erik Rodriguez, and drummer Brandon Busa deliver their Texas Death in clubs, theaters, and festivals, with bands like The Acacia Strain and Kublai Khan.

Filth is Eternal’s Find Out is the triumphant reawakening of one of Seattle’s most vigorous bands, and their rebirth will soon be complete. Find Out, the new LP, is a spool of razor wire ready to unfurl on the unsuspecting world via MNRK Heavy, their label debut due this fall.

Somnuri do not keep their feet planted in surface reality. The Brooklyn-based outfit’s flavor of heavy metal stomps from genre to genre with the fervor and confidence of a band ready to cross thresholds of all that’s perceivable and possible. Somnuri comprises lead guitarist and singer Justin Sherrell, drummer and producer Phil SanGiacomo, guitarist and singer Chris Drapeau and bassist Mike Gaworecki. They’ve earned attention from publications including Revolver Magazine, BrooklynVegan, MetalSucks, MetalHammer, and others. Their latest effort is a testament to the band’s insatiable work ethic and cements them as one of heavy metal’s most exciting emerging acts.

Building off their previous two LPs, Somnuri has spent the last several years hard at work writing riffs and letting their ideas distill in a marathon session of putting the songs together. The final product is their new LP Desiderium, an odyssey through a black hole of sounds and heaviness, due out on MNRK Heavy and recorded at Gojira’s Silver Cord Studio. Dynamically, they’re at the top of their game, easily able to weave through different tempos and sounds, giving some well-trodden genres new roads to travel. “There’s never really stable ground in our songwriting,” SanGiacomo says. “But that’s what makes it exciting for us, we move all over the place and don’t have any limits for our sound.”