THE DARKNESS: Audio Snippet Of New Song 'Barbarian'

An audio snippet of "Barbarian", a brand new song from British rockers THE DARKNESS, can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. The track is taken from the band's new album, tentatively titled "Cliffhanger", which is due later this year.

THE DARKNESS frontman Justin Hawkins recently told Classic Rock magazine that "Barbarian" depicts a Viking invasion of England — what he described as "a heinous massacre."

The follow-up to 2012's "Hot Cakes" was recorded at Leeders Farm Studio in Norfolk, owned by guitarist Dan Hawkins, who also produced the album.

"The new album is brutal," Justin Hawkins told Classic Rock. "It's definitely stripped back — with the exception of some mandolins. But when you’re doing medieval rock, you should have a mandolin on it. And while I wouldn't say that this is our 'Rainbow Rising', we're definitely exploring the myths of old. It's medieval rock, but it still sounds like THE DARKNESS. It's medi-urban, I suppose.…"

THE DARKNESS recently recruited Emily Dolan Davies as their new drummer. Davies, who has previously worked with Bryan Ferry and Tricky, has "revitalized" THE DARKNESS, according to Justin Hawkins. "She's a hard hitter," he told Classic Rock. "She's got the chops and the attitude that you need to be THE DARKNESS's drummer. She also makes us feel like dirty old men."

Regarding THE DARKNESS's split with founding member Ed Graham in late 2014, Hawkins said: "Ed has had some well-publicized health problems in the past. And for one reason or another, he wasn't capable of doing his job anymore. We're still friends with Ed. But now that we have Emily in the band, the worry is gone."