After a five-album stint with Victory Records and one album (2011's 'The Human Romance') with eOne, neo-thrashers Darkest Hour have jumped to a new label home. They've signed to Sumerian Records, which will re-release the hard-to-find debut 'The Mark of the Judas' this fall. A new studio album --their eighth -- is also due soon.

Darkest Hour are stoked to partner with Sumerian, the premiere boutique label in the metal scene, since it gives them the freedom to focus on what's most important -- the music.

The band's statement on their new partnership with Sumerian reads as follows:

"To say that Sumerian Records and label owner Ash Avildsen are big supporters of this band would be a huge understatement. We have been proud to call Ash our friend since our early years and this friendship has flourished greatly since then via our relationship with his sister company, The Pantheon Booking Agency.

When you start a band you dream that one day you can do what you love with great friends and family around you. Now it all seems to have come full circle. With the good people at Outerloop Management, Sumerian Records and the Pantheon Agency, we finally feel right at home. Every aspect of the group is being handled by long-time trusted friends and is in reliable hands. This safe haven has given us the shelter we need to put together a life-changing new album.

Before we could see it coming, we've been thrust out of Oceanic Studios (where we've been working with producer Taylor Larson) and back out on the road. Please come see us live with Killswitch Engage if we're coming to your city and it will also be our first tour with new drummer Travis Orbin. As soon as we get home we'll be back to the hermit life in the studio where we can finish up this album. To our brother Ash, Sumerian and all of you out there here's a huge cheers to 2014, a new Darkest Hour album and the future."

Avildsen himself commented on the pairing, gushing, "Darkest Hour are some of the best dudes I have ever met in music." He also promised to turn the tide for the band by providing the support that it needs to grow and expand, saying, "They're also one of the most underrated bands in metal and Sumerian is here to change that. Their influential debut album, 'The Mark of the Judas,' which never saw the real light of day due to their label at the time going under the day it came out, will finally get a proper release this fall, along with a new studio record. DC pride."

The band issued a signing video shot in their home base of Washington, D.C. It's a two-minute-and-17-second walk down memory lane, featuring an audio and visual scrapbook of the band, comprised of vintage live clips and more.

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Watch the Darkest Hour Signing Video

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