The Darkness

Yes, the lads from The Darkness have a wicked sense of humor, but don't assume that means they don't take themselves, or their influences, very seriously. Whether they're trading virtuoso guitar licks like a latter-day Thin Lizzy or or hitting Queen-like falsettos on an anthemic power ballad, brothers Justin and Dan Hawkins (and their rhythm section, Ed Graham and newcomer Richie Edwards) honor rock's grand tradition of churning out bawdy, magisterial music that sounds awesome over a very large arena PA system.

The band put their shaggy heads together for us and came up with a list of their ten favorite albums, along with commentary that, we suspect, is meant to be taken only slight less seriously than their music:

	The Eagles Hotel California (1976)
"Really relate to this album as we have been to California and stayed in hotels. Because of their mighty wingspan."
	Michael Jackson Thriller (1983)
"Because you can't beat it. All thriller, no filler. As a child it really touched me."
	Fleetwood Mac Rumors (1977)
"I've heard it's good. Many of the tracks on the 'Best Of' seem to be culled from it."
	Metallica Metallica (The Black Album) (1991)
"It's good. It's slimming. Goes with anything, I suppose."
	Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV (1971)
"Nearly as good as Huey Lewis & The News' Fore!"
	Kate Bush The Kick Inside (1978)
"It's great. Bush at her best. The reason it's good... can't put your finger on it. The arrangements are great. Powerful and moving like... a tugboat."
	Dire Straits Brothers in Arms (1985)
"One of the few albums where you're singing along with the guitar, not the vocalist, but you don't feel guilty because they're the same person. They didn't make all that money for... It's like a ventriloquist. He's got two voices. It's like man and machine in perfect harmony."
	Queen Jazz (1978)
"Because it's brilliant. It's the album we were brought up on and as they put it, 'leaving home ain't easy.'"
	Thin Lizzy Live and Dangerous (1978)
"Like a Thin Lizzy 'Best Of,' but it's live."
	Aerosmith Pump (1989)
"The drum sound alone is enough to put that in the top ten; see 'Love In An Elevator.' Because even after you've turned it over, 'The Other Side' is the first thing you hear."
The Darkness' new album One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back is available now in the ARTISTdirect Store, as are all of the band's picks. Click any of the album covers for more information.

England's the Darkness centered around irrepressible frontman Justin Hawkins (vocals/guitars/keyboards), who, along with his guitar-playing baby brother Dan, bassist Frankie Poullain, and drummer Ed Graham, single-handedly resurrected the rather unfashionable sounds and attitudes of late-'70s hard rock for an unsuspecting generation. Following the demise of an earlier, conspicuously synth pop-based outfit named Empire, the Hawkins brothers sowed the seeds of what would become the Darkness at an impromptu karaoke session on New Year's Eve 1999. Justin's rapturous rendition of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" showed them the way, and the suitably dramatic name of the Darkness was chosen shortly after the arrival of Poullain and Graham.

With outrageous stage antics that included gaudy leotards stolen from Steven Tyler's wardrobe, leaps and splits borrowed from David Lee Roth, and an ear-piercing falsetto copped from Freddie Mercury himself, the multi-talented elder Hawkins led the quartet as the group spent the next two years slogging it out in London's pub circuit. Though they were immediately singled out as a joke by the notoriously vicious British press, the Darkness' high-energy sets, remarkably catchy material, and unapologetic worship of old-school rock & roll bombast gradually earned them a fanatical following based on simple word of mouth.

The tide finally began to shift in their favor in August 2002, when the Darkness released their debut EP, I Believe in a Thing Called Love, through independent Must Destroy Music; won a major talent contest; and also scored all-important opening slots with Deep Purple and Def Leppard. Their momentum carried through into the new year, starting with a knockout performance at Austin's SXSW music convention in January, continuing with the release of their "Keep Your Hands Off My Woman" single in February (peaking at number 36 in the U.K. chart), and climaxing in their subsequent signing of a major-label contract with Atlantic Records in March.

Nothing could stop the Darkness' snowball effect now, and a series of acclaimed festival appearances set the stage for their debut album, Permission to Land, to debut atop the British charts -- the first time a new act had achieved such a feat since Coldplay three years earlier. Aside from the 2003 Christmas single Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End), the Darkness concentrated on touring until 2005, when they returned to the studio with Cars and Foreigner producer Roy Thomas Baker. During the recording of their sophomore album, the band parted ways with Poullain, replacing him with new bassist Richie Edwards. One Way Ticket to Hell...and Back was released late in 2005 but didn't fare as well as its predecessor, which took a toll on Justin Hawkins. Following several months of touring, the frontman entered rehab in August 2006 for alcohol and cocaine abuse. Although he completed the program, Hawkins nevertheless left the Darkness' lineup later that year, leaving the group's fate in the hands of his former bandmates. The remaining musicians regrouped under the name Stone Gods the following year, while Justin busied himself with preparations for a solo album. ~ Ed Rivadavia, All Music Guide