The Darkness are back with their strongest effort since 2015’s ‘Last of Our Kind.’ Although, there’s only one album in between them. But either way, the new Darkness album is a strong one. Going back to the more mature grand and epic feels of ‘Last of Our Kind,’ The Darkness have captured an excellent representation of everything that they can do.
The album opens with the epic ‘Rock and Roll Deserves To Die.’ It’s actually really tough to pin point this track. Yes, it’s amazing. The two heavy riffs on the song are absolutely killer and mega fun. The melodies are good. And the guitar solo is out of this world. But there’s also a sadness to it. It is about how real rock is dying and the commentary is spot on. A hell of a way to open the album. ‘How Can I Lose Your Love’ is heavy ballad. A very earworm melody dominates the chorus. And then the verses are excellently hard rocking. But what’s really kick ass is the outro. Only Justin Hawkins can pull of vocals like that and still be taken seriously. ‘Live ‘Till I Die’ is just classic, timeless melodic hard rock. It’s just great to know that a band who’s debut album is less than 20 years old is making great rock like this. An uplifting song that reeks of quality. ‘Heart Explodes’ is a real feeler. It’s a very sad song, obviously about a break up. But instead of being trite and full of fluff, there’s major substance. And the Darkness did it right. Keeping the song about the healing process. If this song doesn’t become a hit than something went wrong with promoting it. ‘Deck Chair’ is as close as another band can get to sounding like Queen without covering them. It’s pure Freddy Mercury. And that’s freakin’ awesome. It’s a very chill, intimate ballad that fits well in the running order of the album.
The title track comes in next with such freakin’ epic hard rock strength you just stand up and shout. A fun riff, an aggressive tempo and a really cool progish shuffle. It’s one of the best song The Darkness has ever done. The bridge is just sick too. Cranking the heavy up a few notches. ‘Heavy Metal Lover’ is just pure fun. Great, head bopping opening riff. Which is also used during the chorus. Don’t let the title of the song fool you. It’s actually a ballad of sorts. A really, really heavy ballad. But one none the less. About falling for a super hot metal chick. And they are out there. The riff in the bridge just comes out of nowhere. Super heavy, super catchy and it just digs into your soul. ‘In Another Life’ is yet another perfect ballad. I would say the album is very ballad-centric. This one has a bit more of a twang to it. Not that it’s country or anything, but certainly a first cousin. The grand chorus is beautiful and strong. When this song hits you get a sense of this band really back to killing it. ‘Choke on It’ is a track that it’s basically a heavier version of something The Killers or Franz Ferdinand might write. The chorus is wicked. The riff is excellent. ‘We Are the Guitar Men’ is a love letter to the guitar essentially. It’s not a particularly excellent track by any means. But certainly holds its own. It’s the final track on the standard version of the lp. But the deluxe edition contains four more songs. So lets go ahead and dive into those as well.
The first of the bonus tracks, ‘Laylow,’ is full of melody and harmony. The acoustic guitar melody is beautiful. The song is simple. It keeps on it’s melody and maintains it’s streamlined feel. A great example of less is more. ‘Different Eyes’ is an upbeat, feel good acoustic rocker. It almost has a Dave Matthews feel to it. But of course, it’s still The Darkness. A high quality, quick song that you’ll wish is a bit longer. ‘Confirmation Bias’ is like a musical ballad. It sounds like something Sondheim or Webber would write. The final track on the album, ‘Sutton Hoo’ is another mostly acoustic piece. That’s clearly the point of the album. It’s not entirely acoustic. But the album is def about ballads and exploring what you can do with them.
Overall the album is terrific. It’s right up there with ‘One Way Ticket to Hell…And Back’ and ‘Last of Our Kind.’ It’s certainly the most mature of The Darkness’ albums, and the most unique. If you’re looking for ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love’ you won’t find it here. But that’s a good thing. ‘Easter is Cancelled,’ despite it’s title and ridiculous album cover, is a very mature album. Certainly in The Darkness’ catalog. I think after the direction of ‘Pinewood Smile,’ which had the lead single entitled ‘(Shitting) Solid Gold,’ the band wanted a new avenue to go down. But even though the album is ballad-centric and mature, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some bad ass moments. When the album riffs, it riffs hard. And The Darkness manages to fit those moments in the most unexpected of places. Making the album exciting and engaging. I’ll give it a solid 3.8 out of 5. Support the band and real rock music and buy the album.
