The Darkness - Permission to Land
Most Brits are still deciding if the Darkness’ cheeky stage antics and arena rock image are for real, but this didn’t stop their debut release from soaring to number one on the UK charts. Permission to Land has become so popular that there’s even been a backlash of sorts, with one BBC radio program recently declaring a “Darkness Free Week.” Most bands would kill for even a little backlash.
They’ve seemingly come from nowhere but in fact, brothers Justin and Dan Hawkins have played together for years. A Karaoke performance of “Bohemian Rhapsody” gave them the idea for a arena-glam-rock band, and out came the hairspray, tight-fitting cat suits and on stage high-kicks. Their hilarious video for “I Believe in a thing Called Love” could have been cut directly from Spinal Tap outtakes. The band members appear in a spaceship and fight off and alien giant squid with their guitars. The guitar solo is even played in front of a 50-foot high wall of Marshal amplifiers. How cool is that?
It seems that no one wants to believe that a band could be this over-the-top and serious at the same time. Are they, as the Brits say “having a go” with their audience? They say no, but come on, what else could they say? There’s one piece of evidence that supports the band’s authenticity – they actually rock. The short but sweet guitar solos are the kind that you want to learn from the back of Guitar Player magazine. The songs are catchy retro-metal songs, and Justin Hawkins’ vocal range is impressive. The style varies from true rock anthems like “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” to the poppy, almost new-wave “Dancing on a Friday Night.”
The album has been rush-released in the US because of its popularity in the UK. Personally, I have my doubts that they’ll make it here like they have in the home of AC/DC and Thin Lizzy. Rolling Stone features their videos on rollingstone.com, and Blender magazine lists “Permission to Land” as one of the fifty greatest CDs of 2003. But it seems that for a group in the states to make it, they must fit into MTV’s lineup somewhere and sadly, Headbanger’s ball was cancelled years ago.