The Darkness Make Live Return, Debut New Songs

After a five-year hiatus, The Darkness made their live return last night, June 5, with an intimate gig near their hometown of Lowestoft, England.

The band split up in 2006 following singer Justin Hawkins' departure, but are now reunited and set to play to more small warm-up shows before their appearance at this weekend's Download festival.

The band played several new songs from the band's upcoming LP, including "Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us," "Cannonball" and "Concrete."

It is reported that Hawkins was in good spirits throughout the night, even asking fans to give thumbs-up or down verdicts on their new material. Hawkins also joked that the band's new album would be called Sea Bream.

The band played through old classics as well, playing songs from One Way Ticket to Hell ... and Back and Permission To Land before closing their main set with their smash hit "I Believe In A Thing Called Love."

When asked afterwards how he felt the show went, Hawkins said the gig went "as well as could be expected. You expect some hiccups and nerves, but we tried some things that we’d never done before, and those are the things that worked. There were some positives, but it's day one isn’t it?"