There are things in life that are often regarded as guilty pleasures. That seventh slice of pizza at the all you can eat buffet. Having both chicken pakora and a donner kebab after a night out on the town. You get the picture and that picture generally involves excess. One guilty pleasure borne of excess that I often indulge after an evening of maximum enjoyment is a bit of the old melodic metal with these words, blurred or unblurred by the late, or is it early, hour being blessed upon “Prelude” by Glasgow metal band Darkness Divine.
I am not sure why it took so long for this five strong band and their EP to come to my attention but perhaps it was because time is on a tight loop in my life. Anyway, let’s listen and see if all the trademark moves of a metal band on the make are present and correct. Indeed they are with the drums being beaten with the metronomic power of Thor and the guitars being riffed like tomorrow might never come. It’s a muscular concoction, as you might expect, and one that sounds so much better after a bucket of good times. There is, however, something else interesting going on here for, amongst the band’s reverential take on the expectations of the genre, is a voice that gives more than lip service to the concept of emotional connection with an audience. That voice is, of course, Toni Benedetti-Martin and her stamp of self-sufficiency is all over the best song on this EP - “Misconstrued” – and this suggests that a sense of adventure may well be residing just beneath the surface.
So, that kind of makes Darkness Divine a band with the potential to be more than just another Glasgow metal band and, duly, “Prelude” an EP worthy of a maximum volume listen. Remember to plug your headphones in if it is 3am though. I know that is something of a beginner’s mistake to make and I can also testify that my neighbours did not show the same enthusiasm for metal that I did. Nor did the police.