I still remember the first time I heard The Darkness like it was yesterday. It was 2003, and a friend of mine told me to check out this band because the lead singer reminded him of a combination of Freddie Mercury and Barry Gibb. To say I was curious would be an understatement. I hopped in my car and went to the record store, because downloading music was still new and I was a bit old school. I started listening and out of the haze of the early 2000s garage rock revival and nu-metal came this absolutely unhinged falsetto screaming through my speakers with “I Believe in a Thing Called Love.” It was energetic, over the top, and absolutely brilliant. With a voice and sound that was completely different from anything else at the time, combined with a fashion sense that would have made David Johansen proud, they were a throwback to the glam gods who came before them.
So now let’s hop in our DeLorean and fast forward more than twenty years. I walked into The Masquerade this past Tuesday and I felt like I stepped back into that same energy I felt when I first popped that CD into my car stereo only amplified. The years haven’t dulled The Darkness one bit; in fact, they seem to shine even brighter on stage. Justin Hawkins, in his dark blue blazer and powder blue tuxedo shirt paired with a stylish ascot, commanded the stage like the ringleader of a circus of misfits. Every move and every high note carried the weight of two decades of keeping the spirit of rock alive.
The beauty of the night was that it wasn’t just about nostalgia. Sure, plenty of fans in the room were there because of that first hit that made them fall in love all those years ago, but the band proved they’re not a one-trick act. They kicked off the night with “Rock and Roll Party Cowboy” from their new album Dreams on Toast and then jumped into old favorites like “Get Your Hands Off of My Woman” and “Love Is Only a Feeling.” Even though it’s been 22 years since Permission to Land hit the airwaves, and despite the band’s hiatus for a few years, nothing has been lost when it comes to making amazing music for their fans. They closed their set with “I Believe In A Thing Called Love,” and for the encore wrapped the night with their new single, “I Hate Myself.”
By the end of the night, it struck me just how rare it is for a band like this to still be firing on all cylinders after two decades. What started as a wild, glittery spark in the early 2000s has turned into a flame that still burns with the same ridiculous brilliance. Watching The Darkness in Atlanta wasn’t just a trip down memory lane, it was proof that the magic of rock and roll can still feel fresh, fun, and larger than life, even twenty-plus years later.
GALLERY: The Darkness at Masquerade in Atlanta, Georgia (September 2, 2025)
