Latest about The Darkness
“It’s the best front-end amp pedal I’ve ever heard”: Justin and Dan Hawkins have launched their own pedal brand – and its first stompbox is based on their tones from The Darkness’s debut album
The limited-edition unit – built in collaboration with Kirk Hammett's KHDK pedal brand – ushers in the pair's new gear venture, Hawkins Brothers Audio
“We’re trying to do the AC/DC version of a two-pronged attack, especially when we play live”: The Darkness’ Justin and Dan Hawkins on the high-volume twin-guitar secrets behind Permission To Land
To celebrate 20 years of Permission To Land, the Hawkins brothers take us back to the start, and unpack a sound built upon the elemental force of Marshall amps and Gibson Les Pauls
“My Gibson is still the coolest looking bass guitar ever!” Frankie Poullain remains a committed Thunderbird player – just don’t ask him about beer-throwing fans
The Darkness bassist on reinventing what it means to be a rock star in 2023: "You can't behave in that stereotypical rock star way..."
“Rick Rubin is one of the most inspirational guitar players of my childhood. It’s a curveball, isn’t it?!” Justin Hawkins names the 14 guitarists who shaped his sound
The Darkness frontman turned YouTube personality on why Keith Richards’ playing is underrated, what makes Eddie Van Halen’s solo blueprint so spectacular, and why guitarists who “make you feel like you want to grab a guitar and do it” are more important than any virtuoso
The Darkness’s Frankie Poullain: “If you go too posh with distortion, it gets too precise and nice. It’s got to be a bit nasty and a bit wrong”
The world’s last great hard-rock band with an advanced sense of humor are back with new album Motorheart. Bassist Poullain brings the pick and the thumb...
Justin Hawkins brands Plini “a bit boring”
Despite suggesting Plini’s act lacks “attitudinal edginess” – and advising he swaps his Strandberg for a low-slung Les Paul – the Darkness frontman does pay tribute to the virtuoso’s “staggering musicianship”
Justin Hawkins: “What?! Split harmonics on the bass?”
The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins reacts to the fast and furious licks of Billy Sheehan and Richie Kotzen of rock supergroup The Winery Dogs
The Darkness: “We just see how far we can get before the solos go flying off the edge of the cliff”
Guitarists Dan and Justin Hawkins talk Motorheart, a riff-rocking new record that’s dedicated to having fun – and, of course, sex robots
