#THE DARKNESS ALBUM COVER CODE#

Those folks didnвЂ™t want flutes, strings or gui-boards. Unfortunately, some people just wanted more of the same Permission To Land style of fun but hard rock. With guys like that at the control panel, you knew the Darkness were going to do something epic. Then it was Roy Thomas Baker, who got a test drive on the 2004 remake of вЂњGet Your Hands Off My WomanвЂ¦AgainвЂќ. First Mutt Lange was said to be the producer. It was pins and needles, waiting for the new Darkness album in 2005. ItвЂ™s like an art project you can headbang too.THE DARKNESS вЂ“ One Way Ticket to HellвЂ¦ and Back (2005 Atlantic) And if youвЂ™re looking for an appropriate soundtrack, you really should consider Motorheart. Now is very much the time to drink cheap cocktails and expensive beer, retrieve that feather boa and those leopardskin pants from the back of the wardrobe, and party like punk rock never happened. Now is not the time to dust off your copy of CloserВ or Pink MoonВ and have a wallow in existential angst. No one needs reminding of how dark the general mood has been for the last two years, and the Darkness understand that. ThereвЂ™s still enough crunchy guitar to keep the core demographic happy, so no need to panic. The biggest swerve from the normal is вЂњSpeed of the Nite TimeвЂќ, which has an early 1980s synthpop/new wave feel. вЂњEastboundвЂќ has a whiff of BlackBerry Smoke about it, although what the heavily bearded titans of southern rock would have made of this tribute to the hot spots of the bandвЂ™s hometown of Lowestoft is a matter of conjecture. вЂњMotorheartвЂќ is almost but not quite heavy metal but still has a glorious chorus and plenty of cute melodic hooks. When the band go slightly left field, itвЂ™s still very entertaining. Brian May in the guitar stylings too, and thatвЂ™s never a bad thing. вЂњSticky SituationsвЂќ bolts some killer riffs to some vocal harmonies stolen from Queen II and comes up smiling. And the lyrics are priceless: вЂњEvery split end / Every curl / I really wish that you were JussyвЂ™s Girl.вЂќ ItвЂ™s a long way from the typically forced bravado that ruins a lot of perfectly good rock songs. вЂњJussyвЂ™s GirlвЂќ is what the aforementioned Def Leppard would have sounded like if they had the heightened sense of irony that the Darkness have in spades. I have no idea what the line вЂњHer very touch inspired tectonicsвЂќ means, but if thatвЂ™s a bit too metaphysical for you, you can always giggle at the Star Trek references.

вЂњItвЂ™s Love, JimвЂќ is an effortless rocker that gallops along in a very pleasing manner. ItвЂ™s like Big Country on a lot of sugary drinks and is a lot of fun. In between cartoony Scottish accents, tourist information, and a brief guide to the cityвЂ™s notable venues is the glorious line, вЂњThe women are gorgeous / and the food is OK.вЂќ I mean, can you imagine Iron Maiden dropping that into one of their ten-minute epics about the Crimean War? ItвЂ™s also a great tune. The album starts with вЂњWelcome Tae GlasgaeвЂќ вЂ“ thatвЂ™s вЂњWelcome to GlasgowвЂќ for readers who donвЂ™t live within 200 miles of ScotlandвЂ™s second city. But the formula is used incredibly well here. This is music made to be played in the largest arenas but still has the aroma of a stinky rock bar somewhere on the east coast (of England.) I doubt very much if the band have paid close attention to any records recorded later than Def LeppardвЂ™s PyromaniaВ as every track on the record sticks pretty close to the classic rock formula. The tried-and-true formula of big choruses, larger riffs, and a healthy dollop of self-effacing humor works every time. MotorheartВ is album number seven for the band, and stylistically, itвЂ™s not too far removed from the previous six. Wait вЂ“ whoвЂ™s that at the door grinning from ear to ear and clutching a couple of Les Paul guitars and a bottle of Prosecco? Ladies and gentlemen, itвЂ™s the Darkness. What if they managed to have some fun with the codes and conventions of the genre that time forgot while at the same time writing and recording material that can sit at the top table of rock. If only there were a band who realized how gloriously daft the whole endeavor is. Yet, its enormous fanbase takes it all so seriously.

#THE DARKNESS ALBUM COVER CODE#

From the dress code to the subject matter, via the pointy guitars and the frankly peculiar album artwork, itвЂ™s enough to make a rocket scientist scratch their head. As genres of music go, hard rock is pretty silly.

The darkness album cover