Album Review: "One Way Ticket to Hell ... And Back" by the Darkness

Campy Brits the Darkness carry on their Queen meets AC/DC schtick with this release, produced by the legendary Sir Roy Thomas Baker.

The disc kicks off with the title track, which is burning up rock radio as we speak. This leads into a tune called "Knockers":

They say your pushing 30
Well, pushing 30 stone.

Now, that is some great stuff.

The layering of the falsetto vocals and the screaming guitar solos continue into "Dinner Lady Arms", hitting a peak with a tune called "Bald", which could possibly be the best track on the album and is the greatest ode to premature hair loss since Rush released "I Think I'm Going Bald" on their 1975 album "Caress of Steel".

The last three tunes on the album take a dip, especially the tune "English Country Garden" which is a bit of vocal wankery, which I'm sure they love in the UK but I find a little hard to swallow. (I'm hopeful that the last third of the album will grow on me.)

All told, this disc is a strong follow-up to the Darkness' debut, "Permission to Land", and I would say exceeds their first effort. I give this disc a strong 7.5 and expect that if you ask me a month from now, I'll probably rate it a full point higher.

Now, how about a tour, lads?