Darko // Starfire
What a wild effort from Darko. 71 minutes, 19 songs, and 6 features. Their fifth album in five years.
Originally created as a side project by Tom Barber and Josh Miller, Darko has become one of the most exciting deathcore bands of the last few years. These two are a match made in heaven, constantly churning out high-caliber music and exploring new influences.
Many people know Tom Barber as the current vocalist of Chelsea Grin and ex-vocalist of Lorna Shore. Josh “Baby J” Miller might be less known, but he has drummed in Emmure, Spite, and Glass Cloud. Currently, he plays all the instruments for Darko and he just joined Chelsea Grin as their drummer.
It’s interesting that Tom and Josh are now in both Darko and Chelsea Grin together. I don’t think the crossover will impact either band’s music though – Chelsea Grin is embracing some death metal influence while Darko is on another planet of chaos and experimentation. This time around, that experimentation involves even more electronic emphasis than what we saw on their last two albums. “Atomic Origin” is a great example of the electronic vibes present throughout this record.
With an album of this length, and when the band has so clearly tried to include a range of sounds and styles, it’s difficult to summarize the end result.
The heavy songs might be described as industrial deathcore, but I don’t think that label is entirely appropriate. Darko pushes the limit with their creativity, but they aren’t completely lost in the sauce like a lot of bands tagged as “experimental” either. I’m happiest describing them as high quality, modern deathcore that no other band has been able to replicate. Josh is an instrumental mastermind and the grindy quality of Tom’s screams is so unique that it would be hard for another group to emulate this sound.
Then there’s the softer songs like “Sora,” “Cry Baby,” and “Finding Love In A World Full of Tragedy.” Tom’s singing is excellent and Darko’s ability to have these songs exist next to the heavier ones without feeling out of place is a testament to the overarching style present throughout the album. The electronic backdrop helps a lot – it serves as a familiar element that connects each song.
One of my personal favorites is “5D” – it’s the perfect mix of heavy and soft. “Distant World” is also a highlight. It reminds me of Darko’s crazy side from their earlier material and the Storm Strope feature is super cool (he’s one of my favorite vocalists ever).
There’s something interesting to say about each track, but I’ll just give a quick shout out to a few other favorites. “Death Charge” and “Atomic Origin” make great use of the featured vocalists and “Shanghai” is a lot of fun.
All things considered, Darko did a good job pacing the album. 19 songs is a lot, and while they definitely could have cut it down a bit, it’s not a chore to listen all the way through, and that’s a big accomplishment for an album of this length. Plus, unless a band is going for an album of the year that has no skips, I’ll rarely complain about being given a lot of songs to experience.
