Darkyra - Life Force

Angry Metal Guy 50

Sometimes life takes you to unexpected places. Gina Bafile, who dubbed herself Darkyra Black and founded the band Darkyra, saw her dreams become reality with the release of two albums in 2014 and 2015. Her band started touring in her hometown of Australia shortly thereafter, and apparently, her shows were popular enough to make plans to take them to Europe. Unfortunately, life took a turn for Bafile. In 2016, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to take an indefinite break from her music. Now, nearly 10 years later, Bafile is back at it with the release of her third Darkyra album, Life Force. It’s amazing what modern medicine and the human spirit can accomplish. Through perseverance, Bafile survived a cancer scare, and again through perseverance, she has rekindled her dream and put forth an ambitious record. That in itself is a worthy success story.

The most succinct way to describe the genre of Life Force is standard rock-and-roll with some extra frills. Like many hard rock songs, Darkyra hooks you early with some nice melodies, but then switches to standard rock riffs as rhythm to accompany Bafile’s voice. Synths add some extra personality: on “One Foot in the Grave,” they provide an eerie, gothic atmosphere, while on “Leap Before You Die,” they perform some nice solos. The piano also plays an important role, providing the main source of instrumentation on “Tomorrow Without You” and serving a supporting role on other tracks like “Quiet the Mind.” Pop/rock songs like these live and die by the chorus, and Life Force has some catchy ones. Most tunes follow the traditional pop structure of repeating the chorus once or twice, but a few instead build up to a big chorus in the finale.

LIFE FORCE by darkyra

Spend enough time with Life Force and you’ll find that there is plenty to appreciate. Surprisingly, the biggest standout is the bassist, Lucio Manca. On songs like “Life Force” and “Quiet the Mind,” his bass absolutely slaps. He steals the show with his grooves, and I wish he had a more prominent role. I know a certain bass-loving Dolphin who would salivate to hear Manca play, and thanks to the crisp production values, his bass clearly stands out. While there are several songs that stand above the pack, such as “Quiet the Mind,” which has a killer chorus, “Celebrity Smile” is the one that I wish Darkyra had used as a model for the rest. ¹ It’s the only true symphonic track on Life Force, and when those string instruments and choral chants accompany Bafile’s voice on the chorus, I can’t help but imagine how great this album could have been had Darkyra done more of this.

Life Force unfortunately, suffers from some inconsistencies. Bafile has a strong voice, but at times the songs put too much pressure on her larynx. For example, when she reaches for a higher register on the chorus of “All in Good Time,” her voice strains and grows pitchy. Darkyra also opts for some odd vocal choices, such as a sassy-talk section (“All in Good Time”), some Darth Vader-like whispers (“Quiet the Mind”), and a moment where I confused her for a nasally Gwen Stefani (“Tomorrow Without You”). These moments aren’t the only weaknesses, though. For one, the guitars are pretty bland, often disappearing into the background. Some of the lyrics are questionable as well, such as when Bafile redundantly sings, “You’ve gotta leap before you die / Leap while you’re alive.” Probably the biggest offender is the penultimate tune, “Tested the Water,” which feels completely phoned in and out of tune.

What Bafile has done with Life Force–create an ambitious work of art after life threw a wrench her way–is an inspiration. No matter what I write in these paragraphs, that in itself is a success. And the album is pretty enjoyable. Yes, it has its warts and blemishes, like any record, but I still find myself giddily singing aloud “You’ve gotta leap before you die” and swaying to the violins of “Celebrity Smile” as they replay in my head. I hope next time around, Bafile plays to Darkyra’s strengths more consistently. Bafile and her team have good instincts for creating musical arrangements with strings, piano, and that bass. I look forward to hearing what she does next.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Battlegod Productions
Websites: darkyra.com | darkyrablack.bandcamp.com
Releases Worldwide: June 13th, 2025

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