The Darkness' LET THEM EAT CAKES World Tour Launches in US Tonight

As the multi-platinum British rock group The Darkness prepare to return to the U.S. for their headlining "Let Them Eat Cakes" world tour, their third album HOT CAKES is making its mark on Best of 2012 album lists at iTunes, Amazon and Google. iTunes named HOT CAKES the Best Rock Comeback album of 2012 (www.itunes.com/itunesbestof2012) while Google Play and Amazon featured it in their Best Albums of 2012: Google Play, Amazon. Released on Wind-Up records in late August, HOT CAKES has received wide critical praise.

In more online news, the group's dynamic frontman JUSTIN HAWKINS is the featured artist on Amoeba Records' "What's In Your Bag" today. Watch the clip as JUSTIN walks the aisles of Amoeba Records Los Angeles flagship and picks his favorite movies, TV shows album covers and more HERE.

The group--JUSTIN HAWKINS (vocals/guitars), DAN HAWKINS (guitars/backing vocals), FRANKIE POULLAIN (bass) and Ed Graham (drums)--will kick-off the U.S. tour January 10 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and wrap-up February 2 in Aspen, CO before heading to 15 countries Worldwide (see full routing below).

The group's potent and energetic live shows are epic and not to be missed. The "Let Them Eat Cakes" world tour marks the band's first headlining run since the release of HOT CAKES, out now on Wind-up in North America and PIAS in the rest of the world. HOT CAKES was produced by the band's JUSTIN and DAN HAWKINS with long-time collaborator Nick Brine and mixed by Bob Ezrin. The resulting 11-song cycle delivers epic rock anthems and infectious pop choruses. Listen to a sampling of HOT CAKES here.

For more about THE DARKNESS, go to www.theactualdarkness.com, or find them on Facebook and Twitter.

Catch The Darkness on tour in the following cities:

JANUARY 2013 - NORTH AMERICA
Thur 10th FT. LAUDERDALE, FL Revolution
Fri 11th ORLANDO, FL Hard Rock Live
Sat 12th ATLANTA, GA Masquerade
Mon 14th PITTSBURGH, PA Stage AE
Tues 15th BALTIMORE, MD Ram's Head
Fri 18th ATLANTIC CITY, NJ House Of Blues
Sat 19th BOSTON, MA Paradise Rock Club
Mon 21st TORONTO, ON Phoenix
Wed 23rd COLUMBUS, OH Newport Music Hall
Fri 25th DETROIT, MI The Majestic Theatre
Sat 26th MILWAUKEE, WI The Rave
Sun 27th CHICAGO, IL The Riviera Theatre
Tues 29th MINNEAPOLIS, MN First Avenue
Wed 30th KANSAS CITY, MO Beaumont Club

FEBRUARY 2013 - NORTH AMERICA/MAINLAND EUROPE
Fri 01st DENVER, CO The Summit Music Hall
Sat 02nd ASPEN, CO Belly Up
Sat 16th COPENHAGEN, Denmark Amager
Sun 17th STOCKHOLM, Sweden Tyroz
Tues 19th TAMPERE, Finland Pokkahive
Wed 20th HELSINKI, Finland - Circus
Fri 22nd GOTHENBURG, Sweden Tradgarn
Sat 23rd OSLO, Norway Rockefeller
Sun 24th KRISTENSAND, Norway Kick Scene
Tues 26th HAMBURG, Germany Grunenspan
Wed 27th AMSTERDAM, Holland Paradiso

MARCH 2013 - UNITED KINGDOM/MAINLAND EUROPE
Fri 01st SHEFFIELD, UK City Hall
Sat 02nd MANCHESTER, UK Apollo
Sun 03rd GLASGOW, UK Barrowlands
Tues 05th NEWCASTLE, UK City Hall
Wed 06th WOLVERHAMPTON, UK Civic
Thur 07th LONDON, UK Hammersmith Apollo
Sat 09th PARIS, France Bataclan
Sun 10th ZURICH, Switzerland Volkshaus
Mon 11th MILAN, Italy Alcatraz
Wed 13th MUNICH, Germany Backstage Werk
Thur 14th VIENNA, Austria Arena
Sat 16th WARSAW, Poland Stodola
Mon 18th BERLIN, Germany CC Live
Tues 19th COLOGNE, Germany Kanting
Wed 20th LUXEMBOURG CITY, Luxembourg Den Atilier
Thur 21st ANTWERP, Belgium Trix

Pictured: Justin Hawkins and Dan Hawkins