December 21, 2011 7:33
The Darkness confirm new album is 'almost finished' The Darkness Tickets
Justin Hawkins and co aiming for a March 17 release for first album since 2005
Photo: Press
The Darkness have completed nine songs for their comeback album and are aiming to put it out in the spring.
Singer Justin Hawkins revealed that the band are expecting to finish the record, their first since 2005's 'One Way Ticket To Hell… And Back' next month. He added that he wants to release the album on his birthday, March 17.
He told Billboard.com:
[We've got] nine of the required songs done, all finished, all sounding shining and good. We've got about two weeks of recording in January, and bits of it are already going off to be mixed even as we speak, so it's kind of nearly finished now.
Hawkins' brother Dan added that the band had been looking to return to the "more organic rock sounds" of their 2003 debut 'Permission To Land', which spawned hit singles 'I Believe In A Thing Called Love' and 'Love Is Only A Feeling'.
"Rather than a big-name producer we decided to do it ourselves, as per the first record. We just wanted to develop the songs and make sure they were really spot-on and basically take a minimal approach across the board - apart from when we needed to go really over the top," he explained.
The Darkness reunited with their original line-up earlier this year for a clutch of live shows, including a slot at Download festival.
Justin Hawkins originally left the band in 2006 after being admitted to a rehab clinic to deal with well publicised substance abuse problems.
Scroll down and click below for an exclusive backstage clip of the band preparing to go onstage at this year's Download festival.
Video: Walk Onstage With The Darkness At Download Festival 2011
Visit NME Video for the latest music videos and artist interviews
- Previous: Axl Rose has fan thrown out of Guns N' Roses show in Vancouver
- Next: George Michael's doctor 'generally optimistic' about singer's recovery from pneumonia
| Date/Time | Venue | Town/City | Seetickets | Viagogo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 14, 2012 19:30 | High Lodge Visitor Centre | Thetford Forest |
Buy The Darkness Tickets |
Buy The Darkness Tickets |
| Jul 14, 2012 19:30 | High Lodge, Thetford Forest | Suffolk | Tickets not currently available. |
Buy The Darkness Tickets |
You may need to upgrade your Flash Player
You can download the latest flash plugin here.
If you have installed flash but keep getting this message:
1. Try to bypass flash plugin detection here.
2. Ensure you have javascript enabled in your browser.
3. Try using Firefox
Listen to more Free Music at we7.com| Date/Time | Venue | Town/City | Seetickets | Viagogo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 14, 2012 19:30 | High Lodge Visitor Centre | Thetford Forest |
Buy The Darkness Tickets |
Buy The Darkness Tickets |
| Jul 14, 2012 19:30 | High Lodge, Thetford Forest | Suffolk | Tickets not currently available. |
Buy The Darkness Tickets |
Comments do not always reflect the views of NME, or IPC Media, for guidelines visit our Ts & Cs page