The Darkness Has Returned

Permission to Land

Image via Wikipedia

Well there’s a headline you don’t get to post about rock music every day!!

The Darkness have reformed with the original line-up and what’s more they’re playing Download!!

Now back in 2003 when the first mutterings were heard about The Darkness, I imagined that this would be some brooding half death metal/half gothic rock band with a visual image not unlike Fields Of The Nephilim

Well how wrong can you be???

Nope when I first saw them I my first impressions were AC/DC with spandex, but hang on a second what’s with the voice?

Unashamedly camp, glam and high-pitched I’ve got to admit that I didn’t quite get it.

Surely these guys were having a laugh? Well that was just it. They were having a laugh and once I’d recovered from my “rock music should always be serious” mode I realised just how good they were.

Always entertaining and technically tight The Darkness were not considered cool by the record industry. Dunno why that was???

Signed up by Atlantic they released their debut album Permission To Land which promptly went straight to number 2 in the UK album charts and went on to sell 1.5 million copies.

By this time I just had to go and witness the band for myself and so I off I trotted to the NEC to see the show.

To say it was good was an understatement, it was highly polished and Justin Hawkins had a manner as a frontman which was unexpected and humorous.

Despite this I cannot forgive the band for the impact it has made on me as for years now I’ve had nightmares about shiny blokes covered in glitter smiling insanely at me whilst floating 10ft above me on the back of a tiger!! Not good!!

When they basically disappeared after the second album, it was a shock and to be honest I never expected to hear from them again.

So I for one am delighted that they have reformed. No it’s not the normal kind of stuff I listen to. Do they still have that same AC/DC sound? (Brian Johnson excepted). Does Justin still wear spandex? Oh god!! Does he still do guitar solos on the back of a flying tiger? Please god help me!!

Will the new material be good? Will Justin ditch the high pitch vocals and turn into Andrew Eldritch? Does anyone care?

All will be revealed on a hot summer Friday night at a frankly otherwise uninspired Download Festival (which is another story) and I for one, do care and  cannot wait!!!

Vinylization

 

 

 

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