Does anybody remember the folks of SAVN? The Gothic Metal jockeys with only one self-titled album to their credit, dating back to 2014. The one fronted by Carmen Elise Espenæs, you know, Liv Kristine‘s sister. Now, this record was literally the first really failed record of this zine’s long career. And we’re still traumatised. But to this day, we just can’t stand the weak tea metal this record exudes in abundance.
So here we got ourselves a piece from an obscure act called Darkyra. One that sounds eerily similar to the aforementioned band. Their 3rd full-length Life Force already hit the market back in June of this fine year, but it kept on eking out a frugal existence somewhere in the sumpy underground tunnels of our review pipe. Reason being that the RMR crew didn’t quite know if or if not we should let loose on this one. Not because the folks over at the Review Desk were lost for words, they never are. But because this review was already written somewhere back in the annals of time.
Let me try to explain this with some quotes from reviews from olden times. Number One: “…the music is not all bad indeed and it holds some good promise.” That’s very true on Life Force, too. The title track, incidentally (and unfortunately), dwells right at the top of the tracklist. And that gave us hope for the rest to turn into a good-to-great offering. Some mix of Melodic Rock and Metal, bestowed with some power at least. And that same saying holds true for the last track. An Evanescence offshoot called Celebrity Smile. Only this time, you’ll be drenched in gothically tainted and tastily arranged melancholy. A track with one of those rare double solos with keys and guitars in one place. In other words, Darkyra here got the opener and the closer down pat with some truly inventive rock and metal. Which makes us wonder, what about the mid-section?
And that is where the suffering starts. Time for the next quote. Number Two: The band “…did not push things as far as they should have.” Yes, yes, and yes. Take Me Far Away gets going like Sirenia meeting The Pretty Reckless. But then, it devolves into something of a whiny contest, sounding like the Espenæs sisters gunning for the Melodic Metal Grammy award after a beer-guzzling contest. This one smoothly floats into quote number three. And it states that the production “…moves in on an even keel and floats by without variation.” Of course, the listening experience will depend on how many amps and bass filters you add to make this palatable on your preferred music machine. But that only underlines the point made before, unfortunately.
Darkyra Black‘s1 vocal performance is best described with quote number four. Her performance on Life Force delivers “…on an even keel, no belting or other itchy sections, no puny little thunderstorm anywhere in this tepid ocean of clears.” This is a complaint we have with many of the storytellers in the Gothic Rock and Metal realm. And baffling as it may be, the mix yet again pushes the guitars and drums way too far to the front instead of brutally featuring the vocals and letting them shine as brightly as they may. And all of this is true right through to the equally weak-tea bonus track.
So, where does Life Force leave us? Darkyra has a lot of promise. Many of the offerings stem from good ideas full of pretty juicy details. You’ll find a variety of blends of rock and metal that often roar forth on slightly progressive patterns. Only that the roaring ain’t too raw and awe-inspiring. In other words, quite frequently, the delivery made me think of Seraina Telli and her mighty pipes. Only to renege on that judgment right away again. Telli’s kind of energy would turn such a lukewarm selection of ‘songs’ into a powerful machine with a promise to fill some music halls at least.
And Darkyra has the goods to deliver; there’s enough talent around. Put differently, be guided by the first and the last track2 on Life Force. And forget about that mushy mid-section that filled nobody over here with pleasure and surely with no enthusiasm to listen to any more of this band’s records.3
Record Rating: 3/10 | Label: Battlegod Productions | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 13 June 2025