Permission to Land

by

The Darkness

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Open your hearts, minds, and ears! The Darkness are here and they are Rocking the planet! In an age where so-called "rock" bands are supposed to be depressed, uncharismatic, Kurt Cobain-obsessed whiners with no talent singers and no solo guitarists, The Darkness is rocketing through the universe on their spaceship spreading the gospel of Rock and Roll!!!! If you hate Rock and Roll, love angst-ridden teen torment drama pop punk, can't have a good time, and are too cool for school, please don't buy this album. BUT if you like smiling, AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, KISS, Queen, Van Halen, and just good ole Rock and Roll, then this is a must have album.

Justin Hawkins has heaven-sent vocals that can shatter steel, vocals that bust through your speakers with the force of a 400mph hurricane wind. He has TALENT. And lots of it, with a stage swaggering bravado to reinforce it. His brother, Dan Hawkins, is bringing the solo back into style. Frankie Poullain delivers the booming bass lines and one killer mustache. Ed Graham gives us some great drumming, old style and Rocking.

The album is solid. Let's go through the tracks:

1. Black Shuck- HARD Rocker that kicks off an equally hard Rocking album. The song's about a demon dog from Hell attacking a church. It WILL rock you.

2. Get Your Hands Off My Woman- Great Rocker. Has a chorus you can't help but sing along with.

3. Growing On Me- Great grooving track, with some hopping solos.

4. I Believe in a Thing Called Love- My favorite song. You will be blown away by the full force of Justin's sonic scream! The title says it all. Great riff, great song.

5. Love is Only a Feeling- Get out your lighters, it's monster ballad time! Awesome solo, amazing song.

6. Givin Up- This one's a strutter! Awesome song about the Rock and Roll lifestyle. Don't do smack!

7. Stuck in a Rut- Hard Rocker about leaving a place where you don't wanna be. Stomp your feet and wave your fist!

8. Friday Night- Cool song with a 1970's feel. Sweet and grooving.

9. Love on the Rocks with No Ice- Hard Rocker. Best "Love" ever in a song. Laaaaa-HUUUUUUV!!! On the Rocks!!! Awesome solo, best on the album.

10. Holding My Own- Best song ever about having "alone time". Great vocals, as usual.

I admit, I'm biased. They're my favorite band, before them was KISS, if that tells you anything. So, yes, I love Rock and Roll. And if you do too, buy this album. You will be rocked, and will smile the whole time. Rock and Roll.

While Nirvana may have been just what popular music needed in 1992, the long term effects of Kurt Cobain's influence have been devastating for the world of rock. Cobain made it okay for rock stars to be emasculated. They could be people who had issues and insecurities like the rest of us, and that was groovy... for a while. But isn't it high time for rock stars to act like, oh, ROCK STARS again? Frontmen like Jonathan Davis, Fred Durst, and Chester Bennington all lack the one essential trait any real rock'n'roller needs, and that is Confidence. Instead of rock gods, we've all been subject to rock peasants, guys who would nail themselves to a cross if their pants were too tight. Enough, already. Real rock stars are supposed to take what they want, do what they want, and answer to no one. They couldn't have all just vanished from the face of the Earth.

It's all gotten so miserable that the emergence of Andrew WK last year was a true breath of fresh air. Here was a guy who preached a simple edict that has been bafflingly lost on nu metallers: Rock is Fun. But for all his efforts, AWK was basically ignored. And so here are The Darkness to give it a second try.

Permission to Land is huge in England right now, which practically guarantees no one here will care about it. Regardless, The Darkness pretty much succeed in making an argument for a pop metal revival. And, more importantly, they inject some swagger back into the fold. For the first half of Permission to Land, they hand out fitting knockoffs of AC/DC ("Black Shuck"), Guns 'N' Roses ("Get Your Hands Off of My Woman," which has to be heard to be believed), Boston ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love"), and Tesla ("Love is Only a Feeling"). Anyone who listens to these tunes and doesn't start bobbing their head has no pulse.

Of course, there is the small matter of lead singer Justin Hawkins' er, unique singing style. Let's face it, the guy is ludicrous. He makes Freddy Mercury look restrained by comparison, singing in a falsetto that could shatter a foot-thick block of ice. The first impluse is to make like Butthead and say to yourself, "Uh, what the hell is this?" It's pretty funny stuff, until you realize just how determined this band sounds. They have a serious passion to ROCK, and eventually it gets to you. At least, if you're looking for something, anything, different from the current rock scene.

Permission to Land suffers from a relatively weak second half. Songs like "Love on the Rocks with No Ice" (does that title make any sense?) are the worst of hair metal cliches - lots of screaming and little songcraft. There's also too much of an emphasis on ballads. "Friday Night" is a solid number, and "Holding My Own" will induce plenty of arm swaying, but nothing in the second half matches the intensity of the first two songs. If Permission to Land were a more consistent album, then it might stand a chance of achieving legendary status. For now, it's a good start for a band that is a potential oasis in a sea of nihilistic dreck.