In case you are ignorant of the artist called Michelle Darkness (as I was prior to this review) let me enlighten you with some 'biography' data. Mr Darkness is the singer and guitarist of the well known Gothic Rock band called END OF GREEN, that are currently working on their next album. While the rest of END OF GREEN are putting the finishing touches on the new recording Michelle decided to isolate himself and produce an album based on his own ideas.
Ok, I think you have already got the picture of what Michelle's project album sounds like; straightforward Gothic Rock that follows the current trends that were originally introduced by the H.I.M.; that is, depressive tempos, suicidal lyrics and the erotic atmosphere that for some undiscovered reason drive the women/girls crazy. One think that caught my eye was the green color that dominates the cover art (and matches Michelle's eyes...)  and reminded me the works of TYPE O NEGATIVE. Actually, the vocals in Brand New Drug follow precisely the performance pattern of Peter Steele with deep, full passion and of twist of irony timbre. Musically the album is nothing groundbreaking and hides no surprises; the compositions are kept simple with easy to follow melodies that are focused on the catchy chorus lines. Of course, bands like SENTENCED and H.I.M. and SISTERS OF MERCY come to mind in tracks like My Sweet the groovy Brand New Drug or the JOY DIVISION cover ballad Love Will Tear Us Apart that features the guest appearance of Hanna Parkarinen who was the winner of the Finish Tv-show Idols. Michelle did another two cover songs; the first on RAMONES's Pet Semetary that is kinda cool and the second not so successful on SIMON & GARFUNKEL's The Sound Of Silence.
I think the above cover up the solo album of Michelle Darkness; this album is pretty good for its genre although it adds nothing new on the Gothic scene where bands often sound as they copy each other. If you are familiar to END OF GREEN and you like wear black clothes and paint with matching colors you finger nails then this album falls definitely on your interests; on the other hand if you find all these stuff kind of weird and sometimes gay (excuse my saying) then move on to the next album review.