Forged in Fate: Darker Half on Power Metal, Persistence, and the Road Ahead

Forged in Fate: Darker Half on Power Metal, Persistence, and the Road Ahead

Australian power metal outfit Darker Half has been steadily carving their name into the global metal scene with their high-octane riffs, soaring vocals, and relentless touring. With their latest album Book of Fate out now on Massacre Records, drummer Dom Simpson and vocalist/guitarist Vo Simpson sat down to talk about the new record, their European adventures, reflections on their early work, and what’s next for both Darker Half and their side project Night Legion. What follows is a candid, insightful, and often humorous look into the minds of two musicians who live and breathe metal.

First of all, introduce yourselves and tell me what you do in the band. Let’s start with Dom.
Dom: Hey, I’m Dom. I play drums in Darker Half.

Vo: Hey, I’m Vo. I play guitar and sing in Darker Half.

Where are you guys based, and what’s the metal scene like there?
Dom: We’re based in Sydney, Australia. The metal scene here really depends on how broadly you define it. Heavy music in general is more popular than ever, which is awesome. But our particular niche—traditional and power metal—is still very small in Australia. That’s why we spend a lot of time touring in Europe.

Let’s talk about the new album, Book of Fate. Is there an overarching story or concept behind the title?
Vo: The idea behind Book of Fate is that once something’s written down, it becomes fixed—locked in time. When people talk about things, stories evolve through interpretation, like a game of Chinese whispers. But writing something down preserves a specific version. We drew inspiration from stories like The Wizard of Oz and The Pied Piper of Hamelin. One’s a classic tale, the other more modern, but both are deeply embedded in cultural consciousness.

Let’s dive into a few songs. I believe the first single was “From Disaster.” What inspired that one?
Vo: It’s basically about calling an ambulance for someone who’s had an accident. That’s the surface-level idea. There’s personal stuff behind it for me, but we kept the lyrics intentionally vague so listeners can interpret it in their own way.

The other single, “Another Day, Another Nightmare,” is my favorite on the album. It sounds like it could be all over the radio. What’s the story behind that one?
Vo: It’s about the repetitive cycle of life—days and nights blending together. Even when things change, it can feel like you’re just treading water, stuck in a loop. Think Groundhog Day—that’s probably the best way to sum it up.

You just wrapped up a European tour. How did it go, and what were some highlights?
Dom: It was fantastic. A big chunk of the tour—about 13 shows—was supporting Glenn Hughes from Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, and his solo work. We also played a couple of festivals and did a headline show. The festivals were amazing—big outdoor stages, great energy. Glenn and his band were super welcoming, and it was inspiring to watch musicians of that caliber perform night after night.

One standout was our headline show at a friend’s venue in Waldbrunn. It’s a smaller club, maybe 150 people, but it’s all our crowd. That kind of show has a different vibe—you finish playing and just walk into the crowd and chat with everyone. It’s intimate and really rewarding.

What was it like hanging out with Glenn Hughes? He’s an absolute legend—and so nice. I interviewed him a few years ago and he was just the kindest guy.
Vo: That’s exactly what I was going to say—he’s a really nice guy. I actually met him at The Cricket in Australia about 20 years ago. So when we got offered the tour, it was a great icebreaker. I would’ve been a teenager back then, just starting the band. He remembered that meeting, which was wild. He’s an absolutely incredible singer—still so on point vocally every night, even at his age. His whole band was super welcoming and easy to chat with. Honestly, going into the tour, I thought we might be a bit on the heavy side musically, maybe not the best match. But it worked really well. You couldn’t ask for a better experience.

Dom: Yeah, I think in Europe, the kind of person who goes to a Glenn Hughes show is also into Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica—so we actually translated well. We weren’t worried exactly, but there’s always that little concern, like, “Will people be into double kicks and thrash beats?” But they were.

Has Darker Half ever played in the States, or is that something you’d like to do?
Vo: Both! We toured the U.S. in 2014—it was our first international tour. We did a bunch of shows on the East Coast, a couple on the West Coast, and squeezed in some touristy stuff too. It was a great run with some solid shows. But it’s tough to do the U.S. properly—the visas are complicated and expensive. We’d love to come back, but right now it’s financially pretty difficult.

Dom: Yeah, the exchange rate isn’t exactly helping us either.

Did you make it out to Southern California—Los Angeles specifically?
Vo: Yeah, we did. Most of the shows were on the East Coast, but we played a couple in L.A.—one at The Viper Room and one at a backyard party, I think. Maybe one more. The shows we did play were excellent, and the response was great. It really was a fantastic tour. But again, the financial side of getting back there is tough.

What did you think of the Viper Room and the Sunset Strip?
Vo: Oh, it was cool. It’s surreal seeing those places you’ve read about in rock biographies and music history books. You can definitely tell it’s not the ’80s anymore, but the vibe is still there. The Viper Room is a great venue—well set up, and you can see why it earned its reputation. We played two shows over a weekend and hung out in L.A. for a week, went out a few times. You get why it became such a legendary spot.

Your previous album, If Only You Knew, came out in March 2020—the same month the pandemic hit. What was it like releasing an album at such a historic moment?
Vo: It was frustrating, for sure. We had a European tour booked to start in early April, kicking off in Rome—right when lockdowns began across Europe. We talked to the label about delaying the release, but at the time, no one thought the pandemic would last as long as it did. They wanted to go ahead with it. All things considered, it sold pretty well, and we eventually toured it once lockdowns lifted. It was rough and uncertain, but honestly, it could’ve been a lot worse.

Dom: Yeah, we had a lot of conversations with the label about whether it was the right time to release an album. Everyone’s attention was elsewhere. I think the release date was March 27th, and at that point, lockdowns weren’t even confirmed. The news in Australia was changing daily—no one really knew what to expect. At the time, it felt like, “We’ll chill for two weeks and then it’ll be over.” But obviously, it wasn’t.

Let’s go back to 2009. When you look back on your debut album Duality, what do you think of it now?
Vo: I think a lot of the style we still use was already there—it was just in its infancy. Even with the new album, you can hear that it’s the same band. We’ve definitely tightened things up since then, especially in terms of songwriting and lyrics. Back then, we didn’t quite have our heads around that side of things yet. That said, I still think Duality is really good for what it is. I look back on it fondly, even though you can see there were things we needed to work out.

Dom: Yeah, with those first three albums—Duality, Desensitized, and Never Surrender—you can hear the progression. By Never Surrender, things were improving, but back then, access to quality metal production in Australia was pretty limited. These days, you can learn how to do it yourself. I actually produce our albums now after doing a bunch of online courses and training.

But back then, there weren’t many people with the right gear, skills, or availability—especially at a price a DIY band could afford. If anything doesn’t hold up from those early records, it’s mostly down to that. The songs are strong, but they needed a producer’s input and better engineering and mixing—stuff that’s much more accessible now.

Vo: Yeah, and in those early days, we were still figuring out whether we wanted to use keyboard tracks live, play to a click, or go more old-school. It took a while to decide which direction felt right.

You’re both in another band called Night Legion, also on Massacre Records. What’s happening with that project?
Vo: We’re writing a new album right now. I was just at Stu Marshall’s place—he’s our guitarist—and we were going through all the demo tracks we’ve put together over the last six or seven months. We’re locking in the song structures and getting everything tight. The album’s basically written—we just need to record it properly. Right now, it’s all demos, but it’s sounding really good. I’m really happy with it. It’s a little different from what we’ve done before, but in a good way. I think people are going to love it.

You toured with Paul Di’Anno, who recently passed away. What was that experience like?
Dom: It was amazing. I was really young—maybe 22—and he was someone I looked up to. I loved those first two Iron Maiden albums. That tour was actually with both Paul Di’Anno and Blaze Bayley, so it was fun hearing them talk about their different experiences in the same band. They had very different energies on and off stage.

Paul was a total character—100% rock and roll all the time. It was cool hearing stories from the early days and getting to play that music with him. His take on those early Maiden songs was very different from how the current lineup interprets them. He’d want to do things his way—faster tempos, different phrasing. He’d say, “I always thought this part was a bad decision—let’s do it like this.” It was awesome to be a small part of seeing his vision for how that music should sound and be presented.

So Book of Fate is out now. What’s next for Darker Half between now and the new year?
Dom: We’ve been writing a new album that’s very close to completion. Pre-production starts Thursday, and for the first time ever, we’re bringing in an external producer—Chris Themelco, who mixed our last two records. We’re doing pre-pro sessions with him now that the songs are in a pretty solid place. There are still a few kinks to work out, but we’re excited to get his input and hopefully squeeze out that extra 5%.

We’re aiming to record early next year. I doubt we’ll release anything in 2026—we want to give Book of Fate some breathing room. But you never know. We’re definitely deep into writing the next one.

Any message for metal fans in the U.S. who are reading this?
Vo: Stick with us—we’ll get back to you eventually.

Dom: Yeah, we’d love to come back to the States.

DARKER HALF are:
Vo Simpson – Vocals, guitars
Danny Ritz – Guitars
Jimmy Wynen – Bass
Dom Simpson – Drums

(Interview by Ken Morton)

DARKER HALF online:
www.darkerhalf.com
www.facebook.com/darkerhalf/
www.instagram.com/darkerhalfofficial/