DARKYRA
Life Force
Battlegod Productions
“Life Force” is the third album release of a so far very fruitful joint venture between singer songwriter Gina Bafile and drummer Garry King under the superb DARKYRA brand. Their totally unique sound really is quite something to behold with cinematic, epic and operatic metal all being beautifully melded together with art, gothic and progressive rock to form an addictive elixir that will leave you constantly craving for your next fix.
Each of us have our very own inner and outer demons that have continually battled for absolute control of our souls right across the ages and back to the dawn of time itself. “Life Force” is a collection of songs about those base primeval natures that define us as human, the darkness and light that are constantly at war within us all and how they are still relevant today. DARKYRA imply that in this modern age our avatars are now the slaves to the same internal conflicts within the virtual universe as our forefathers were in the physical world of old.
“Life Force” is not for the feint hearted because it explores some of the harsher realities of life in such frank and forensic detail that it can’t fail but to deeply resonate with us all at some sort of level whether we want it to or not.
Epic, symphonic track “Take Me Far Away” with its harrowing vocals is about looking for closure and rebuilding your life by laying down new roots, whereas title track “Life Force” with its heavy operatic vocals is about the raw emotional power that flows through us all and the strong friendships we continue to build in our lives.
Modern heavier and progressive track “All In Good Time” discusses autism in early childhood, whereas the self-explanatory “Leap Before You Die” is an equally hard thumper of a song with a more futuristic twist. Those of a darker disposition will be drawn to the haunting “One Foot In The Grave” with its bleak outlook into the world of the elderly who are just simply waiting to join their loved ones in the afterlife, or the similarly grim bonus track “Tested The Water” where the subject matter is the breakdown of relationships, loss and separation.
The powerful and thought-provoking tearjerker “Tomorrow Without You” tackles the tough realities of watching a parent fall ill, pass away and the awful aftermath in a very moving way that won’t fail to pull firmly on your heartstrings. The equally disturbing “Quiet The Mind” lays bare the issues of a restless mind that simply won’t switch off and the long-term problems it can create for the sufferer and those around them.
“Celebrity Smile” is a stunning and epic length composition that gives a stark warning to all those who would give up everything and lay it all on the line in the search of fortune and fame, is the prize ultimately worth the sacrifice? The lighter dreamy vocals of “Breathe” spotlights something that will probably touch us all in some way or at some point during our lives and is about picking yourself back up during and after the dreaded C rears its ugly head.
A “Life Force” flows within us all, be it strong or weak it is the very essence of who we are and everything we do. DARKYRA discuss the fine print of being a human and life itself in almost autopsy level detail from the moment of birth to the point when it is all finally extinguished and we cease to be. Much the same as true life the subject matter of “Life Force” is often brutal, tough and uncomfortably hard to face up to but it is more than offset in this case by the beautifully serene and honest musical presentation of DARKYRA.
Very Highly Recommended!
Mark Waight