By Joe Puccio

When Permission to Land exploded onto the music scene in 2003, glam rock was anything but at the top of the charts. Genres such as garage/indie rock (The White Stripes), rhythm and blues/soul (Alicia Keys), art/alternative rock (Radiohead), and nu metal/rap rock (Linkin Park) ruled terrestrial radio. Enter The Darkness.

The British quartet, consisting of brothers Justin (vocals) and Dan (guitar) Hawkins, Frankie Poullain (bass), and Ed Graham (drums), provided a vital shot of adrenaline to the airwaves, which had begun to display signs of stagnation as the new millennium was still in its infancy.

Now, 20 years later, the charismatic unit is celebrating the seminal album’s vicennial anniversary in style, embarking on a heavily-anticipated global tour, performing every single cut from the record, with bonus selections, B-sides, covers, and more thrown in for good measure.

Barreling into New York City’s Terminal 5 on October 18, the band immediately oozed electricity as Dan’s familiar crunching guitar chords echoed throughout the sold-out venue, quickly chased by Rufus Tiger Taylor’s (current drummer) precise pounding, Poullain’s steady bass playing, and Justin’s unmistakable, piping voice reverberated on “Black Shuck.” Without a moment to catch their breath, the gloriously chaotic “Get Your Hands off My Woman” and the double entendre-infused “Growing on Me” followed, mirroring the first three tracks of the disc being lauded.

Justin’s infectious stage presence is a huge selling point and his bewitching interaction with his fans was exhibited throughout the course of the 90-minute sprint, playfully convincing a front-row follower to remove his shirt and toss it to the frontman.

It would be understandable and perhaps even expected if the singer’s vocals had weakened over the years, especially considering the over-the-top style he employs. But he was in top form, beautifully crooning each revered tune in the set. Particular highlights were the melodic ballad “Love Is Only a Feeling” and the hauntingly poignant “Holding My Own.”

Dan’s axe mastery was gorgeous on “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” the group’s most recognizable number, and conversely, was ferocious on “Stuck in a Rut.” While joining the group in 2015 and technically not a ‘newbie,’ Taylor kept the beat as if the songs were his own and worked wonderfully with animated rhythm section partner Poullain.

A riveting encore of the obscure “I Love You 5 Times” and the anthemic “Love on the Rocks with No Ice” (preceded by a snippet of Don McLean’s “American Pie”) capped off a rousing mid-week evening of hard rock.

It should be noted that when the band debuted, the throwback rockers were often dismissed as a parody act in the vein of Spinal Tap due to their bombastic sound and outrageous costumes. But it didn’t take long to squash those misguided opinions. And with no less than a half dozen records to their credit since Permission to Land took the metal world by storm, there appears to be nothing preventing The Darkness from having a long, successful journey.

Setlist:

1. Black Shuck
2. Get Your Hands off My Woman
3. Growing on Me
4. The Best of Me
5. Makin’ Out
6. Givin’ Up
7. Love Is Only a Feeling
8. Curse of the Tollund Man
9. Stuck in a Rut
10. How Dare You Call This Love?
11. Street Spirit (Fade Out)
12. Holding My Own
13. Friday Night
14. Happy Birthday to You (for Josh Dion of opening band Paris Monster)
15. I Believe in a Thing Called Love
16. I Love You 5 Times
17. Love on the Rocks with No Ice