Darker Half
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | Established. Jan 01, 2014 | SELF
Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
"A near faultless set that saw crowds rush up to the front where they were moshing and headbanging like there was no tomorrow."
- www.hailmetal.com
"Up and coming local metal heroes Darker Half are led by a captivating lead singer guitarist who is skilled beyond his tender years, with a massive vocal range and guitar shredding in his blood." - FASTERLOUDER.COM.AU
"This is a band where you know that each member is having a ball on stage, and after how many shows they’ve played this year, that’s a definite tribute to the energy and dedication Darker Half shows on a nightly basis."
Cryptor
- http://www.MetalObsession.net
Darker Half will soon be supporting Queensrÿche on their upcoming Australian tour. It’s no wonder that the band have been given such a prestigious honor.
The band hail from Sydney and infuse elements of melodic power metal, progressive metal and thrash, into a nice hybrid with a dominant technical aspect.
I first saw these guys in Melbourne when they supported The Eternal. I didn’t know much about Darker Half at the time, and to be honest I wasn’t expecting much at all.
To my surprise though, these guys really impressed me from the word go. Aside from being awkwardly cramped on stage at Melbourne’s Arthouse, they pulled off an amazing performance. More so with their rendition of Judas Priest’s, “Free Wheel Burning”.
Witnessing such a live spectacle, I wasn’t expecting any less from their latest debut album, ‘Duality‘. The album has a nice infusion of hybrid elements. Clashing a mainstream sound, which isn’t too cliché, with a nice overture of power and thrash metal, with a lot of progressive elements.
The first track ‘Take the Plunge’, would probably be considered the bands most “mainstream” piece. Offering some nice clean vocals, sharp guitars and solid drum work which inevitably lay the foundations of the technical aspect later throughout the album.
Tracks like ‘Duality’ and ‘Confusion’ add a nice melodic touch to the album. Incorporating hypnotizing chorus’ and insanely nice guitar work from guitarist, Dom Simpson.
As I ventured further though the album I really got the sense of great diverse album. Not only from a instrumental stand point, but also from a vocal aspect too.
Steven Simpson can easily sway from high pitch wailing, to a nice ballsy grunt. This somewhat ballsy grunt is only utilized in the track “Holocaust”. Yet, Steven does use a somewhat similar style to Opeth singer, Mikael Åkerfeldt in the latter duration of the tracks ‘Confusion’ and ‘Stranded’.
The track ‘Holocaust’ is very reminiscent of early Sodom and Kreator material, and fits well to the albums scheme. It mixes up the album nicely without taking to much away from the main technical emphasis of the album.
I also noticed similar aspects to Stratovarius, Megadeth, Helloween and even Iced Earth. This plethora of influences really makes the album a benchmark in terms of being one of the most diverse power/thrash metal albums in Australia, nay; the world at the moment.
Musically speaking this is one of the most well organized and best sounding Australian metal bands I’ve heard in a very long time. The bands love for power and thrash metal has given the scene a dramatic jolt to the heart, resulting in a powerful rebirth which I’m sure will send many flocking back to the local scene. 9/10
For fans of: Judas Priest, Kreator, Stormwarrior, Opeth, Iced Earth.
Band: Darker Half
Album: Duality
Year: 2009
Genre: Prog/Power/Thrash
Label: Independent
Origin: Sydney, Australia
myspace.com/darkerhalf
1. Take the Plunge
2. Enough is Enough <- Reviewer’s Choice
3. Duality
4. Confusion <- Reviewer’s Choice
5. Stranded
6. Helpless
7. Darker Half <- Reviewer’s Choice
8. Invasion
9. Holocaust <- Reviewer’s Choice
10. Heads are Gonna Roll
11. Anthem for Doomed Youth - http://www.MetalObsession.net
"a young Aussie band that's been hitting the scene pretty hard lately. Having reviewed them before I knew what to expect and I've seen them play live many times. I can tell you now that this band has a lot of potential and a record label had better hurry up and grab these guys while they can! I've been given a copy of their new album 'Duality' and I can't wait to hear the latest works"
...
"In essence, this album is almost perfect and has included improved versions from their EP ‘Enough is Enough’. As I mentioned, the band has obviously been very busy considering each piece and pulled off a great album."
...
"the CD sleeve has all the goodies; pix, info, lyrics and so on. It is presented well and well worth the purchase! This band has been very busy striving to improve their position in the scene releasing a music video, their new album and getting some great touring opportunities. So if you haven’t checked them out yet, then you are missing out on some bloody good Aussie metal! Great album and I highly recommend you get yourself a copy." - http://www.mysticmetal.net
Discography
Full Length album "Duality" released May 2009.
Limited Release EP "Enough is Enough" released 2007
Photos
Bio
Darker Half is a melodic metal band from Sydney Australia.
Their sound is rooted in traditional metal while drawing on many other influences both metal and otherwise to create a unique, energetic and heavy sound. Twisted dual guitars and explosive solos laid across a rock solid yet inventive rhythm section, topped off by a vocalist whose range can match any of rock's greats, making this a band who can really set themselves apart.
Darker Half
released their debut album 'Duality' in 2009 and promoted it heavily via
national tours supporting Paul Di'anno (ex-Iron Maiden), US metal legends
Queensryche, their own regional/interstate headlining tours and an appearance
at Screamfest 2009/10 along side Edguy, Sonata Arctica, Dark Funeral. These
shows quickly established the band as one of Australia's top metal acts.
Darker Half
continued to tour relentlessly in 2010, after hooking up once again with Paul
Di'Anno on his return tour later that year, the band went into Defwolf Studios
in January 2011 to record their second album 'Desensitized' and signed
Australian deals with Rockstar Records and MGM Distribution for its release in
August of 2011. The band then embarked on an Australian tour in support of the
new album which saw them return to interstate capital and regional centres
multiple times and score support spots with Alestorm and Children of Bodom to
rave reviews.
They continued to support the release through 2012 with support slots for Steve Grimmet and in mid 2012 Dom and Vo stepped up to play drums and bass for former Judas Priest, Iced Earth and Yngwie Malmsteen singer Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens on his Aust/NZ tour.
Following the
Ripper tour, the band went straight into the writing and recording of album
number three. A break from recording several months later saw them support
Warbringer and Dom’s services were called upon again to play drums for both
Blaze Bayley and Paul DiAnno on their November 2012 Aust/NZ tour.
While Dom was
off paying live, Vo worked with Stu Marshall (Death Dealer) on his Empires Of
Eden project doing pre production work and contributing vocals on two songs. He
is among some metal icons that feature on the album including Udo Dirkshneider,
Rob Rock, Ronnie Monroe, Sean Peck and Ross the Boss.
2013 saw the band kick off the year by opening for Sabaton and Nightwish in Sydney and spend the following 5 months fine tuning and finalising work on the next record. They hit the road for their own headlining tour through October and November which finished off in style as they opened nationally for Stratovarius on their first ever Australian tour.
Now after an
extended break, Darker Half have returned with their third album, Never
Surrender.
Recorded with
Dave Hammer in Sydney and mastered at Fascination St Studios, Sweden by Tony
Lindgren. Everything is where it should be. Melodic, soaring choruses, positive
lyrical themes with an old school us against them thrash vibe. Those explosive,
Children Of Bodom meets Rust In Peace era Megadeth solos are everywhere and
there is plenty of double kick fury, galloping riffs and urgency across all ten
songs.
With the album complete,
Darker Half embarked on their first ever US tour in June and July 2014, playing
a variety of shows predominantly on the east coast and mid-west, including a
spot as special guests of Grim Reaper in New York, an appearance at Warriors of
Metal festival in Ohio and their own headline show at the Viper room in Los
Angeles.
They returned to
Australia to perform at the multi-venue Brewtality Festival in Melbourne. They
have been announced as major support for Accept before setting out on their own
headlining Australian tour which is currently being planned, along with a
return trip to the US and a first foray into Europe in 2015.
Darker Half is:
Vo Simpson (Vocals/Guitar)
Simon Hamilton (Bass/Backing Vocals)
Dominic Simpson (Drums/Backing Vocals)
Brad Dickson (Guitar).
“Darker Half are on the rise.” Metal Obsession, Australia
“We are going to see some pretty magnificent things coming from this outstanding and underrated band.” True Metal Lives, USA
“One of Australia’s most powerful live bands.” Voltage Media, Australia
“This is gold…makes me wonder why no label has scooped them up yet.” The Metal Observer, USA
“Simply an amazing band” Spotlight Report, Australia
Band Members
Links
