Metal heavyweights Darkyra set their sights on a long-awaited return

With their new single We Are Blind, Perth-based epic metallers Darkyra are marking their return from an eight-year hiatus with the single’s launch show at Lynott’s Lounge on Friday, July 24. The metal four-piece will be joined onstage by special guests metal band Shadowborn, instrumental prog metallers Outcome Variables and melodic metal group Parabelum. JAMES HAMILTON spoke to lead singer Gina Bafile about their momentous comeback and what is on the horizon for Darkyra. 

Congrats on the release of your new single We Are Blind! How long has this been in the works for, and what’s the feeling amongst the band about releasing it to the world?

Well, this track began as a bit of a writing experiment between myself and Krissy in 2024, not long after she helped get Darkyra back in the Perth gig scene. I had sent Krissy just a vocal melody sung to just a programmed drum track. It was a simple song structure with verses and choruses with layered backup vocals. I really loved what she came up with on guitar behind the choruses, and the song kind of evolved from there. She had some really great ideas and chord progressions she sent as some of her standalone ideas, and I remember wanting to use them for the bridge of the song, but I had a really hard time trying to make the changes flow, so I guess this is why it took so long to complete.

We also had help from George Boussounis in Athens, who arranged the beautiful orchestral instruments. Having worked with George before on a couple of the earlier albums, I knew that it was worth the wait for the recording of the stringed instruments. During this time Darkyra was also searching for permanent band members. Maaz was already part of Darkyra at the time Krissy began, but Drew and Pedro completed the lineup last year. Pedro took over from Krissy when she left to start Parabelum late 2025.

At times it looked unlikely that we’d hear new music from you. Explain to us what took place during your eight-year-long hiatus, what prompted the break, and what inspired you to come back to write and perform.

The break from music was a health-related one. After going through the big C, I really just needed time to adjust and time with my family. But with any artist, there’s an itch that’s always needing to be scratched, and the hunger to write and perform was one that never ceased to exist.

What’s the message behind the new track, and what do you hope the listener takes away from it?

Preoccupied by material things, glued to our devices, oblivious to some of the rotten things happening around us. If only we really opened our eyes and looked to see what was happening. Poverty, crime, pollution—the list goes on. What will we leave for the children of the future? A photograph… a souvenir of our once beautiful world.

Can you tell us about your relationship with Parabelum? Given Sanfead performed as part of Darkyra a few years ago and Parabelum members will be joining you on stage to perform the new single at the launch, do your musical styles naturally complement each other? 

Our styles, although very different, they’ve come together really well on this track. I really like Mick’s vocals; both Krissy and Mick are very competent musicians and did what was best for the overall track. Not only them, but everyone involved treated the music with respect. It was a fun project and one that was more about bringing together some of the local scene. Aside from the arrangement and strings, everything was recorded in Perth and mixed and mastered in Perth by Li Heng Chan of Productive Outcomes Music.

And what can you tell us about Shadowborn and Outcome Variables? What can we expect from them on the night? 

Both are amazing bands. We’re eager to see Shadowborn live; we’ve heard great things about them. Thrash with a difference.

It’s exciting to see so many unique bands in Perth doing their own thing. Outcome Variables are a favourite of ours; there is so much talent from a three-piece, and these guys are one of the most skilled and eclectic prog bands in town. Very underrated, and they’re just a really down-to-earth bunch of guys.

You’ve played with some incredible acts over the years, including Finnish power metal band Battle Beast at Magnet House earlier this year. Did you learn anything from them and that performance? 

It was our very first support gig and one that kind of got dropped on us at the last minute. Pedro had only been back in the country a week after returning from a four-month holiday, so we didn’t have a lot of time to prepare. We got a 15-minute sound check at least. Battle Beast were amazing. The crowd were obviously die-hard fans who knew all their songs. Our 30-minute set was really well received, and we signed a lot of autographs and sold a tonne of merch and got to play to a crowd that appreciated symphonic power metal. Couldn’t ask for better than that.

You have said this year a focus of yours has been on future growth; what can we expect for the rest of this year? What are the band’s plans and goals going forward after the single release?

After our launch show on the 24th of July at Lynott’s, we have one more show in October which is a Halloween event, also at Lynott’s Lounge. We’ll be pretty busy for the remainder of this year working on our next themed album, which we anticipate being ready by April next year. There’s also our first trip over to Sydney in May for Battlefest, and hopefully after that we might finally make it overseas towards the end of 2027.

Darkyra launch their new single, We Are Blind, at Lynott’s Lounge on Friday, July 24, 2026. Tickets are on sale now from oztix.com