Italian band DARKING was formed back in 2009, featuring members of cult band Domine, and released their debut album “Sons of Steel” in 2010. “Steal the Fire” is their sophomore production, and was released through Italian label Jolly Roger Records in 2015.
Jolly Roger Records as a label appears to hone in on bands that mainly explore vintage varieties of good, old fashioned heavy metal, and Darking is a fitting addition to their roster. They explore the sound of the 1980’s with focus and intent, with all the good and not so good bits that comes with bands visiting those particular landscapes.
The negative aspects of such an orientation obviously comes down to the fact that this is a type of music extensively explored by others, and as such the songwriting and performance needs to be of a fairly high quality to make an impact, as most people will know fairly well what to expect and have firm ideas about what they want to hear.
Darking does a fair job here though. They don’t bite over more than they can chew, they know their limitations and doesn’t try to stretch themselves into taking on music they cannot master, and have a sure feel about how they want to come across, at least as I experience them. Solid, galloping bass and drums is at the core of most songs, along with firm galloping and fluctuating guitar riffs, harmony and melody-based compelling guitar solo runs and powerful, melodic lead vocals they manage to create material in a suitably compelling manner comparable at least in general sound to a band like Iron Maiden. Mainly the early Dickinson-era sound, but also with a few nods towards the D’ianno era of the band. A few instances of more classic 80’s heavy metal and detours into the kind of music explored by bands such as, possibly, Nasty Savage and Helstar also makes brief appearances, expanding the scope of this album ever so slightly, but without letting go of the main impression that classic era nwobhm in general and Iron Maiden in particular are major and massive inspirations for what this band attempts to accomplish.
Some songs are slightly more compelling than others, as one might expect, and some of the lyrics do come across as somewhat halting. Their tribute to Michael Moorcock’s classic anti-hero Elric among the latter, but an entertaining romp if you don’t listen to closely to the lyrical content.
All in all a pleasantly entertaining and engaging album, as long as you have an affection for early to mid 80’s nwobhm and a slight affection for the varieties f heavy metal explored on the other side of the Atlantic in the same period. Nothing amazing nor astounding, but good and solid music with a few creations aspiring towards higher quality.
My rating: 68/100
