This Darkened Heart

This Darkened Heart is the second album, gathering sharp guitar riffs, rough vocals and racing rhythm. Released on Prosthetic in March 2004, with Killswitch Engage's Adam Dutkiewicz single-handedly producing, mixing and engineering. Mike Martin — once Oli Herbert's guitar student — joined on guitar, with Matt Deis on bass. The Martin/Herbert twin-lead partnership that would last for years began here. While the songs carry a melodic death metal influence, they push breakdown weight and hardcore urgency hard to the front. Unlike the debut, clean vocals are introduced, bridging toward their later path. A youthful sharpness is up front, and the playing has a raw force that isn't over-tidied. The opener “And Death in My Arms” and “The Deepest Gray” are early signature songs, and the density doesn't drop through the closing title track. On the back of this record they toured with GWAR, Arch Enemy and Darkest Hour, and the band became widely known fast. Already containing the seeds of their later melodic expansion — the record that marks their first leap.