D.C.'s Darkest Hour, Keeping Its Fans On the Hook at 9:30

Heavy-metal fans are the greatest fans in the land, filled with an unbreakable devotion. How else to explain the presence of the guy in a head-neck-and-torso brace at Darkest Hour's CD release concert Sunday at the 9:30 club?

Dude couldn't bang his head, of course, just gingerly rock his body enough to show he was digging the sounds. And after the wild evening of floor-wide mosh circles and stage-diving bodies, many of the able-bodied kids probably needed full-body traction.

With four opening bands, it was an epic night in the pit, but Darkest Hour showed why it was the headliner -- even if the group's set lasted a mere 50 minutes. The D.C.-based quintet just finished a month-long tour of North America, so songs from their slaying new disc, including "Demon(s)" and the title track, "Deliver Us," sounded just as tight as older songs "An Epitaph" and "Eclipse."

What separates Darkest Hour from the legions of metalcore bands screaming across the world is the ability to deliver a hook, often with the vocals of John Henry, who will interrupt his throaty yowls with brief melodic passages that grab the ears for a second and give them a chance to reset before the next sonic assault. Other times the hooks come from fierce guitarists Mike Schleibaum and Kris Norris, who mix hard-core punk riffage with death-metal ugliness and ax solos that would make readers of Guitar Player magazine weep with joy.

And Darkest Hour is devoted to its devoted fans. From MySpace bulletins that encourage people to come meet them and down a brew, to letting a gaggle of young headbangers onstage to sing Sunday's final song, "The Sadist Nation," Darkest Hour is all about the kids. Even ones with body braces.

-- Christopher Porter