"Darkness" is a maxi-single from the recording sessions of

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

's eighth album ''

Done with Mirrors ''Done with Mirrors'' is the eighth studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on November 4, 1985. It marked the return to the band of guitarists Joe Perry, who left in 1979 and Brad Whitford, who departed in 1981. The band's first ...

''. The song originally appeared as the last track on the album's cassette and CD issues (it did not appear on the vinyl version). It was then issued in 1986 as the album's second commercially released single in the US (following " Shela"), and was the fourth and final promo-single taken from the album.

Track listing

*12" vinyl: #"Darkness" – 3:42 #"She's on Fire (Live)" – 6:02 #"The Hop (Live)" – 5:40 #"My Fist Your Face (Live)" – 4:30 All live tracks recorded at

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

on March 12, 1986.

Release

The single was released as a limited edition 12-inch vinyl and cassette single in Canada. The single was backed by three b-sides, all live tracks recorded at a live performance at

The Centrum The DCU Center (originally Centrum in Worcester, formerly Worcester's Centrum Centre and commonly Worcester Centrum) is an indoor arena and convention center complex in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts. The facility hosts a variety of events, i ...

, Worcester, Massachusetts on March 12, 1986. The show was a part of the

Done with Mirrors Tour Done may refer to: Places * Done, Maharashtra, a village in India People with the name * Done P. Dabale (1949–2006), Nigerian philanthropist, theologian, farmer, nurse, educator and author * Cheryl Done (born 1970), British bobsledder * C ...

Personnel

;Aerosmith * Tom Hamilton –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

Joey Kramer Joseph Michael Kramer (born June 21, 1950) is an American musician best known as the drummer of the hard rock band Aerosmith, which was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. Life and career Kramer was born in the Bronx, New ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Joe Perry –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

Steven Tyler Steven Victor Tallarico (born March 26, 1948), known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer, best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, piano, and percussion. ...

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

Brad Whitford Bradley Ernest Whitford (born February 23, 1952)Putterford, Mark (1991) ''The Fall and Rise of Aerosmith'', Omnibus Press, Strong, Martin C. (2001) ''The Great Metal Discography'' (2nd edn.), MOJO Books, , p. 11-13 is an American musician who i ...

– guitar ;Other personnel *

Ted Templeman Edward John "Ted" Templeman (born October 24, 1942) is an American record producer. Among the acts he has a long relationship with are the rock bands Van Halen and the Doobie Brothers and the singer Van Morrison; he produced multiple criticall ...

– producer (track 1) *Aerosmith – producer (tracks 2–4) *Bob Demuth – recording engineer *Sam Kopper – recording engineer *Steve Corbiere – recording engineer

References

Aerosmith songs 1986 singles Songs written by Steven Tyler Song recordings produced by Ted Templeman Geffen Records singles {{1980s-rock-song-stub