Our Darkest Days is the fourth studio album by American punk rock band Ignite. It was released on May 16, 2006 through Abacus Recordings. Following the release of their third studio album A Place Called Home (2000), the band left their label, went through line-up changes, and the members focused their time on the side project California United. Despite starting pre-production for a new album in early 2005, they did not start recording until November 2005, and eventually finishing in January 2006. Sessions were held at Maple Sound Studios in Santa Ana, California, and Paramount Studios, Hollywood, California with producer Cameron Webb. The album's melodic hardcore sound evokes the music of 7 Seconds and AFI (specifically their 1999 album Black Sails in the Sunset).
Our Darkest Days received generally favorable reviews from music critics, some of whom praised the song writing and frontman Zoli Téglás' vocals. After recording finished, Ignite toured the US between February and April 2006 with Comeback Kid and First Blood. Following the album's release, Ignite trekked across Europe with With Honor, supported Strike Anywhere on their US tour, and ended the year supporting Pennywise on their Canadian tour. In early 2007, they appeared in South America and would play various festivals across Europe over the next several months, such as Reading and Leeds. They embarked on a European tour in April and May 2008, with a trek of Australia following in July 2008.
Background and recording
Ignite released their third studio album A Place Called Home in June 2000 through TVT Records. By April 2001, the band had left the label, citing a lack of European distribution for the album. In March 2002, the band announced that they had signed with Vans Records, a label started by Jim Lindberg of Pennywise. Guitarist Brian Balchack was replaced by Kevin Kilkenny for touring, until the latter decided to focus on being a motorcyclist. Frontman Zoli Téglás and bassist Brett Rasmussen spent time in 2003 with their side project California United, with the Lonely Kings drummer Jon Barrysmith and Jet Leg guitarist Nik Hill. In June 2004, Ignite played their first shows in the United States for two years, prior to a tour of Europe. Balchack re-joined the band to aid in writing new material. In August 2004, it was reported that the band had eight new songs for their next album, and planned to write up to another ten for it. Between September and November 2004, they toured across Europe, Brazil and Australia.
In January 2005, the band said they were in the process of pre-production, looking for a new label for their next release, and posted "Bleeding" on their Myspace profile. In June 2005, they went on a brief West Coast tour with H2O. On July 20, 2005, the band signed to Abacus Recordings, and expected to release their next album in early 2006. The following month, they embarked on another of Europe. Ignite recorded a new album between November 2005 and January 2006. Sessions were held at Maple Sound Studios in Santa Ana, California, and Paramount Studios in Hollywood, California, with producer and engineer Cameron Webb. Sergo Chavez and Paul Miner did additional engineering. Partway through recording, Téglás was involved in a theatre adaption of Quadrophenia. Webb mixed the recordings at Maple Sound Studios, before the album was mastered by Kevin Bartley at Capitol Studios in Hollywood.