Three members of the much admired, and equally loathed, Darkness decided they wanted to continue doing music after Justin Hawkins — lead singer of the Darkness — pranced off to rehab and other things. His brother Dan Hawkins, got the rest of Darkness together with the former bassist, Richie Edwards. This is their first release and its first single “Kill the Witch,” is one hell of a freaking new wave of British heavy metal/hard rock stomper. There are still whiffs of other classic British bands like The Sweet, Queen, Thunder and even um… Busted. However as an effort to kick-out the jams, this is a great album. The quality of the musicianship is rather good and it is quite listenable. This is a grower without a doubt and the band are clearly finding their footing. The one thing that strikes you listening to this album is a keen desire to hear what they are going to come up with next. There is talent there in spades, and a keen sense of songcraft; a bit more originality would not go amiss however. This is probably one of the best British heavy rock releases this year.
Marty Dodge
Tags: Disc Reviews