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The Darkness - One Way Ticket to Hell and Back - Atlantic
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The Darkness’ “One Way Ticket to Hell and Back” is nothing you haven’t heard before. The guitars of a 70's/80’s metal band, the vocals of any hair band, and the drumming of a 14 year old, is what makes this album an absolute waste of money.
When listening to a new CD, one of the first things I pay attention to are the drums. They do more than just set the beat, they show the intensity of the band. A drummer can use basic beats, but can still play with intensity that makes it enjoyable. Other drummers are anything but basic, but with no intensity and can sound like crap. Ed Graham plays like a 14 year-old at his first recital. There’s no intensity and no creativity. Meg White has more creative beats. So at the start, this CD is looking disappointing.
Next come the guitars and again a disappointment. The duo of Dan and Justin Hawkins is boring. There’s nothing here that I haven’t heard before. Their wails are reminiscent of late 70’s arena metal and some tracks sound like combinations of various songs from other bands. No originality here.
Justin’s high shriek vocals is the only part of this album that actually seems like time was spent on it’s recording. The intricate backings and precisely placed harmonies at times sound like the middle of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. Now copy this 9 times and the 10 track CD gets boring. You start to know what to expect which takes the fun out of listening to any album the first time.
The only interesting part of the CD is the 6th track called Hazel Eyes. The sound is more of a traditional Scottish tune which is fairly decent until Justin kills it with his chorus of backing vocals. The song quickly turns to a cry of the banshees and loses all hope of being anything special.
Overall, the band is trying to live off of Hawkins’ freak, high pitched singing ability and have clearly engineered the entire album around that one element. Due to this, everything else suffers. Below standard drums, recycled guitars, and a bass line that’s non-existent. It’s time The Darkness understand that they are a one hit wonder. The shock to the music market the first time around that rocketed these blokes to stardom was due to the memories they brought back, not their talent. As they’re learning, gags can only carry you so far before you have to resort to your true talents which The Darkness has none. The only people that should buy this album are the ones who missed the Ratt or Warrant reunion tours. Or those that need new coasters for their coffee table.
Mike J.
RadioMojo.com
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1. One Way Ticket
