UK punks Darko unveil an impassioned new single and video, “What I Cannot Be,” today, marrying their signature blistering speed with the controlled frenzy of The Dillinger Escape Plan or Converge.
“Melodic skate punk will always be in the DNA of Darko, but sometimes it just isn’t angry enough for the subject matter”, frontman Tom West said of the striking departure from the band’s established sound.
“What I Cannot Be” kicks off the upcoming 5-track “Greyscale”. Producer Will Duff of Goliath Studios returns to the desk for the nihilistic second chapter of a trilogy preceded by 2022’s genre-bending “Sparkle”.
Across the pummeling two-minute new single, West savagely condemns “Neanderthal hardmen” and traditional expectations of masculinity.
“Having focused on how the patriarchy principally harms women and marginalized genders in Sparkle’s opener “The Ladder”, this time around I needed to vent about the significant toll it also takes on men and boys”, explains West.
“Being pushed into boxes based on redundant stereotypes hurts everyone.”
Catch the Band on tour in Europe in December.
Nov 30th – Wermelskirchen, DE @ Ajz Bahndamm Wermelskirchen *
Dec 1st – Oostende, BE @ TBC
Dec 2nd – Den Haag, NL @ Musicon
Dec 4th – Munich, DE @ Backstage Munich +
Dec 5th – Hradec Králové, CZ @ AC Klub
Dec 6th – Vienna, AT @ rhiz Vienna
Dec 7th – Bodenmais, DE @ Rote Res Bodenmaiss
* w/ Drunktank and Main Line 10
w/ Drunktank, Mainline 10 & Venturas
+ w/ Melonball & Captain Asshole
About DARKO:
Over a raucous decade, DARKO have by definition, become veterans of the UK Punk scene and it is not uncommon to see them standing as an essential name within the intricate and complex world of contemporary Punk and Hardcore.
The band, urgent and charged with conviction, are set to continue championing and contributing to the health of the very scene that birthed them as they pen the narrative of their new chapter.
In 2020, longtime voicebox Dan Smith returned to his native Australia and parted ways with the band after so long in the vox seat. Dan’s evocative, emphatic and emotional lyricisms have left quite the legacy throughout the band’s releases. Darko’s four other noisemakers have curated a backdrop of vicious, hybridized Skate Punk and Melodic Hardcore that has been pushed beyond itself across thirty countries.
Darko have now enlisted longtime touring compadre Tom West of UK shredders, Almeida. The band have never hidden from what ails them or the society they inhabit but with West at the vocal helm now and forgoing the complacent societal padding forced upon us all, his lyrical discomfort has spurred the band’s most unbarred barrage yet. There is nothing hidden here, nothing soaked in distracted metaphor or softened non-confrontational rhetoric, Darko are making full use of their scene privilege and challenging people who look akin to them to unleash their own salvos. But what of the backing? These are stops that have also been beyond pulled.
Darko’s evolution is tied to their past but with threads so long that there is an abundance of slack to play with. Notes of Polar Bear Club, Mastodon, A Wilhelm Scream, Protest The Hero, Rise Against and Propagandhi can all be savored in their contemporary flavor profile. Serrated, lacerating Thrash and metallic digressions contrast the meandering guitar lines rooted in Skate Punk classicism. Writhing, emotive and complicated Post-Hardcore structures supplement the “techy” displays they are known for as an overarching and indisputably Punk-charged Prog-aesthetic allows the versatile and varied vocal range to seamlessly traverse the entirety.
Rob, Chris, Karl, Andy and now Tom have come together to the highest degree, poised and proud to show you a reimagined, powerful and determined Darko.
