Rock Music News: Darkfighter Review (2024)

Rival Sons is leaping back into action with Darkfighter, the band’s first full-length album release since 2019’s Feral Roots. Produced by longtime Rival Sons collaborator Dave Cobb, Darkfighter is out now via Low Country Sound/Atlantic Records. The album, Rival Sons’ seventh full-length, is moody and guttural, packed to the brim with punishing riffs and heavy rhythms. Darkfighter depicts a band on a journey, trying to make sense of a world driven into chaos—and if it doesn’t provide the answers listeners are looking for, it’s possible those answers will come on companion album Lightbringer, expected out later this year.

Album opener “Mirrors” starts with 45 seconds of organs, creating a note of anticipation that builds to an eventual bursting point when guitarist Scott Holiday eclipses the sound with a hefty and repeating riff. Underlined by drummer Mike Miley and bassist Dave Beste, the riff carries the song forward with its power and urgency, giving Darkfighter a strong beginning.

“Nobody Wants to Die,” Darkfighter’s first single, is next—and, as Holiday recently told Blues Rock Review, it stands apart from the album’s seven other tracks. The song has a sense of urgency that’s compounded by singer Jay Buchanan’s lyrics: “Nobody wants to die / But they know they’re gonna have to.” The song’s rollicking pace and matching Western heist music video makes this the most fun song on the album, though not necessarily the most rewarding.

“Bird in the Hand,” which was also released early as a single and music video, comes next. Like “Mirrors,” it begins by taking listeners on a brief jaunt before digging back into the album’s heavier soundscape. Though the music video for “Bird in the Hand” serves as a precursor to the “Nobody Wants to Die” video narrative, the song is more contemplative. It’s followed by “Bright Light,” a track that leans on Buchanan’s powerful vocals. “Bright Light” feels like an airy, steadying breath before the searching lyrics and pounding rhythms that unravel next in singles “Rapture” and “Guillotine.”

“Horses Breath” is perhaps the most unique song on Darkfighter, and possibly the easiest to overlook. After a haunting beginning, the song carves out a deep space for itself over six minutes using driving rhythms and vocal layers. “Horses Breath” slowly fades out over 45 seconds, with echoing vocals sounding like they’re bouncing off the walls of a shadowy cave until the song slowly fades into album closer “Darkside.” With lyrics like, “Something’s driving you out of your mind” and “There are no promises to keep anymore / Now that you’ve gone to the dark side,” “Darkside” closes the album with a dark and fatalistic tone. It’s a daring decision for a band that likes to end its albums on a positive note, and an exciting stopping point as listeners await the arrival of material Rival Sons have planned for companion album Lightbringer.

The Review: 8.5/10

– Bird in the Hand– Horses Breath– Darkside– Nobody Wants to Die