Album Review: The Black Halos - "How The Darkness Doubled"

 

It's good to see the Black Halos back after an absence of well over a decade. With Rich Jones, Billy Hopeless and Jay Millette reuniting the band in 2020 and a clutch of promising singles resulting, the prospect of a full album from them was, I'll admit, something that had me pretty excited. But, let's face it, the scenario of a great group disappearing for a lengthy period and then returning with an effort that just sounds like a pale shadow of their glory years stuff is something that happens more often than a lot of us would like to admit so there was an element of nervousness in there as well.

I'm happy to say though that right from the moment the opening broadside of History Of Violence kicks into gear, it's obvious that the group haven't missed a beat in their years away as it soars through on a brutal twin guitar assault from Jones and Millette topped off with Hopeless' Stiv-esque snarl. Tenement Kids and former single Uncommonwealth are similarly high standard, both vicious rebukes against the uncaring nature of the world that the Halos have returned to in the 2020s. The high standards continue throughout this one - Better Days and Frankie Come Home are a big gang chant number that recalls Jones' work with Michael Monroe (indeed, Mike turns up here to guest on a well executed cover of the Wanderers' Ready To Snap)

The darker undercurrent that underpinned a lot of the best Halos' stuff is still present and correct as well with You Can't Take Back The Night's chantalong chorus disguising a song that actually appears to be a posthumous regret note from a suicide while the self-explanatory Even Hell Is Looking Down and All My Friends Are Like Drugs are real wrong-side-of-the-tracks observations on a life less than wisely led. Former single Ain't No Good Time To Say Goodbye is an ode to friends departed before A Positive Note sends this one off on a blitzkrieg bop pace sprint to the finish. Special mention has to be made here to Dave Draper whose rock solid production captures the energy and vitriol of this band perfectly.

Rest assured that How The Darkness Doubled definitely continues in the great Black Halos tradition of no-nonsense scuzzy rock 'n' roll with a mile wide mean streak and comes highly recommended by us. It's a late contender but I get the feeling that this one will definitely be up there when we do our 2022 albums of the year list in a few weeks.

Bandcamp Link

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 (9/10)

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