A bastard child born of the mid 90's punk/metal/hardcore movement, Darkest Hour combine the passion, energy, and soul of punk/hardcore with the style, speed, vengeance, and fury of melodic death metal. Formed by guitarist Mike Schleibaum and vocalist John Henry, September 23, 1995 marks Darkest Hour's first live performance. Over the next year the band recorded two self titled demos and in 1996 on local DC area label, Death Truck Records, Darkest Hour released those demos in the form of its first EP, The Misanthrope. Bitter and Raw with a sound of a young band searching for to find its own identity The Misanthrope was just the beginning of bands journey. After relentless local and regional touring Darkest Hour released its second EP titled, The Prophecy Fulfilled on local DC/Indi./Punk record label Art Monk Construction. With its second release the national world took notice and Darkest Hour recorded its First Full Length LP, The Mark of the Judas with producer Brian Mcternan in 2000. Plagued by label problems, Mark of the Judas although not widely promoted caught the attention of Chicago based record label Victory Records. In 2001 Darkest Hour inked a record deal with Victory Records and later that year recorded and released its second full length, So Sedated So Secure. This launched Darkest Hour onto the international stage and after two years of nonstop touring the band traveled to Sweden and recorded the politically charged, Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation with legendary Death Metal producer, Fredrick Nordstrom at Gothenburg's, Studio Fredman. Released in 2003 Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation helped the band gain strong mainstream attention and as a result the band was asked to participate in the 2004 Ozzfest Summer Tour. 2005 saw Darkest Hour headed to Vancouver, BC to work with legendary metal madman and producer Devin Townsend at Greenhouse Studios. Working with Devin the band recorded its fourth full length, Undoing Ruin. On June 28th, 2005 Undoing Ruin was unleashed and Darkest Hour entered the Billboard 200 Charts debuting at 134 in its first week. Not to be slowed down the band continued relentless touring all over the world. In 2007 Darkest Hour returned once again to Vancouver, BC to record their follow to Undoing Ruin. With Devin Townsend at the helm once again Darkest Hour crafted Deliver Us, their most prophetic, destructive, and sonically realized work yet. 2009 Darkest Hour return to the studio 13 years after their first performance. The stage is set, the next chapter is to begin . . .

Mike Schleibaum has toured for over a decade as founder and guitarist of the European influenced thrash / Punk/ Death Metal band Darkest Hour. He has toured in over 45 countries and on 5 continents with the band. Mike’s recording career began over 13 years ago. As part of Darkest Hour he has released 5 full length records and 2 EPs. He has worked with legendary metal uber producers: Fredrick Nordstrom (Studio Friedmen, Gothenburg Sweden), Devin Townsend (Greenhouse Studios, Vancouver, BC), and Brian Mcternan (Salad Days Studios, Baltimore, MD). Mike has also self-produced several projects including Dead to Fall (Victory Records), and solo project Man and Wasp. He has also worked on several studio albums including From Autumn to Ashes, (Vagrant Records) Destroy the Runner (Tooth and Nail), and With Honor (Victory Records). In-between touring and recording, Mike works as a television composer. Some of his clients include; Tru TV, Smithsonian Network, MSNBC, Investigation Discovery, and National Geographic. Prior to making his living as a musician and producer, Mike earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Social Work from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA in 2001. When he’s not on tour Mike lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Sari and their two cats Eddy and Alex Van Halen.