The Ink and The Black | Killing Our Darlings - Single Review
March 6 | Written By Simon White
Glaswegian outfit Killing Our Darlings are back with their first single since 2021, The Ink and the Black. This six-piece group have been releasing music as early as 2015 and are in the process of writing their debut album. If The Ink and the Black is anything to go off, this record will be one to look out for. With a sound as gloomy as the Glasgow weather, Killing Our Darlings first graced our ears with their 2017 release The Hospital Song EP. Starting as they mean to continue, this four-track EP encompasses their juxtaposing sound – airy but heavy. Between The Hospital Song EP and The Ink and the Black, Killing Our Darlings have released nine singles where the full extent of their influences can be heard. Ranging from ‘Counting Zero’, a very post-2006 Deftones sound with its muffled vocals and guitars drowning in fuzz and reverb, all the way to 2020’s ‘Anemic’ which could well be and alternate universe The Cure where Robert Smith is Scottish. Anyway, enough of the old, onto the new!
Killing Our Darlings self-released their new single The Ink and the Black on January 16 th 2023. The track starts with a hard-hitting intro, easily likened to that of a modern metalcore group like Bring Me the Horizon or A Day to Remember. The intro is where the quality of the mix can be heard best; the way the snare, guitar, and keyboard all intertwine builds atmosphere, and is a sign of what is to come. Heading into the first verse, the thumping bass riff is really what’s driving the intensity of this track; something that continues throughout the whole track, especially through the choruses and bridge. It’s here that Sean Pullan’s vocals do get a touch lost in the mix, however. Everything is so well balanced, apart from the ride and crash cymbals, and rim click on the snare – fans yearn to cling onto every last word of any vocalist, and although the vocals are clear, they could be drowning less in the ensemble.
Aside from this, it’s worth reiterating how clear the rest of the recording is; the backing vocals and bass power through to really create a wonderful soundscape on The Ink and the Black.
Something listeners will adore, and can be heard in many of Killing Our Darlings’ tracks, is the vocal fry on Pullan’s voice. This strain suggests raw emotion, as if the words don’t quite want to come out – like an apology someone doesn’t deserve. Additionally, the way Killing Our Darlings blend a very gothic verse riff and very intricate drumming, into a nu-metal style chorus is superb. The keyboards are what really makes the chorus, the layering is perfect and adds an eerie feeling to The Ink and the Black. Again, the transition from chorus to bridge to breakdown is slick and well-rehearsed. The breakdown is a more guitar driven adaptation of the intro, and there is no doubt that fans are all here for it.
Killing Our Darlings have really started off 2023 with a bang, and audience’s should be very hopeful for much of the same from this Glasgow outfit. The Ink and the Black is an adolescent teenager of a track, gloomy, angry, melodic, but brutal. Keep up the good work fellas!