This Dying Hour are a band with fortitude, resilience and passion. Formed in High Wycombe in 2007, they released their debut EP Longest Memory From The Shortest Life, which was extremely well received. The band went though a number of line-up changes and ultimately a six-year hiatus starting in 2010 meaning that the band had to start from scratch once more in 2016. Tragically, within the next two years, vocalist Dave Pickup passed away after a fatal hit and run accident and founding member Sean Crossey lost his life to cancer. This Dying Hour wondered if they would ever recover and it took some time before they felt that writing and recording new material was something they could even begin to consider.
In 2021, they released the tremendous Fire and the Blind EP and their decision to lay down new music was more than vindicated. Fast forward to 2023 and This Dying Hour are on the rise once again. Having released singles Torchbearer (featuring Jot Maxi of Hacktivist) and Age of the Coward in the last few months, new vocalist Steve Kerr has fully established himself in the line-up, also adding an artistic element to the releases. As a talented tattooist, he has produced a comic to tie in with the lyrics.
After a string of successful gigs in the UK and also on the continent, they returned to their hometown to play as part of the Mortal Metal Festival over the late May Bank Holiday weekend. While This Dying Hour can be broadly classified as metalcore, they intelligently and potently combine power and aggression with melody, swagger and samples alongside both clean and growling / scream vocals.
Two songs played tonight (Fire and the Blind and Cornered) are taken from the Fire and the Blind EP and both display the renewed vigour that This Dying Hour have thrived on. “Identify the fire and the blind / As I start to write in my own tragedy / When can’t I find the one only lie / When I was a child in my own tragedy”, spits Kerr as he encourages the audience to become a full part of the show.
Bassist Nat Douglas delivers both passion and groove to the mix while effortlessly driving each song forward. As a result of the band’s recent live outings, they are incredibly tight, which is even more remarkable considering the need to use stand in drummer James Burton (who produced the band’s two most recent singles) for the evening.
In Kerr’s words, “Torchbearer challenges the way we handle grief through actions, blame and accountability. None of us can escape death, so we have to find a way to handle it better through creativity.” Given the history of This Dying Hour, it is a convincing and resonant statement of intent. Live, the song takes on increased potency and Ash Whitelock’s percussive, chugging riffs reflect the unforgiving, barbed lyrics. “You bear torches to find the space between the tress / Searching at dusk for a sign of relief/ In front of you, you fail to see/ You’re burning the very things that are keeping you breathing.”
In a 30-minute set, they demonstrate their wish to move ever forward by including two new, as yet unreleased songs (Soul Reaper and Paranoia), which are enthusiastically welcomed by an appreciative crowd. Commanding and enthralling, Steve Kerr stalks the stage (and the floor immediately in front) with an innate intensity. This Dying Hour have the ability to back up their ambition and while none of their material breaks the four-minute mark, their material sounds like mini-epics due to well considered structure, use of dynamics and admirable, sophisticated and technically exceptional musicianship.
Ending with their latest single, Age of the Coward, This Dying Hour, while musically assured and confident, are not afraid to tackle introspective and reflective lyrics, (I’ll never forgive myself, that’s why I must do better / For if I stop to think, I’ll put myself through hell / I’ll force the tears to fight the fires) which challenge what it means to be human. Kerr sees Age of a Coward as a way to confront the way we see ourselves. “Over the years I have personally battled with self-identity and purpose. I don’t think these things are exclusive to me, but a journey we all must take. This is why we shouldn’t settle with your shortcomings, but instead with discipline and hard work we can lace their linings with gold. You can’t make the world a more meaningful place, until you see through who you truly are.” Age of the Coward is the result of a band eager to progress and cultivate their sound, while maintaining feeling for their roots and provoking thought about what metalcore can be. At the conclusion of their (all too short) set, This Dying Hour receive rapturous applause and the smiles on the band’s faces show they have enjoyed it just as much as the audience.
Already planning their next step, Nat Douglas told me, “There’s a lot going into our second EP. We are thinking of cutting it into two EPs because at one point we got wildly creative.” Fans of bands such as Bury Tomorrow, Architects and Asking Alexandria would find much to enjoy in the music of This Dying Hour and they deserve to be heard by a far wider audience…..
Written: May 2023
Watch the video for Age of the Coward below.