Even if you don’t know Midnight, even if you haven’t been on that depraved and sadistically gleeful ride to the edges of metal excess, just take a look at the band pic that accompanies this review. Then listen to the first song off Rebirth By Blasphemy, which couldn’t be more perfectly titled but will be discussed below the break.
If you’re not on board at this point, nothing can save you. Take your goat and go home. We’re here to rage.
Midnight belong in that rarified air of bands that time and time again keep churning out the same ingredients, and god DAMN if they ever change that. Since 2011’s Satanic Royalty the message has been out and clear: speed and aggression in the vein of the best old school trad bands with a healthy blackened dose of Motörhead…if Motörhead somehow swallowed early Venom and became immortal practitioners of the dark arts. So songs like opener “Fucking Speed and Darkness” make a perfect kind of sense no matter what aspect of leader Athenar’s music you feel drawn to.
From there it’s business as usual for Rebirth By Blasphemy, with the title track and make you wanna shout “Devil’s Excrement” filling the stomp along vibe that makes an album repeatable to these ears. D beats are in full effect, and the result throughout the album is one of unbridled speed and belligerence in equal measure. If there is a jump to the album, it’s in a clearer, punchy production and a dedication to making each song ridiculously tight, with the whole of Rebirth clocking in at just under a half hour.
This is one of those cases where there isn’t much more to say. Any adjective or metaphor I can cram into this review is rendered moot by that picture above. Look at it, let those ripping chords tear into your flesh, and die with a smile on your face and flaming guitar in your chest.
That’s Midnight. That’s Rebirth By Blasphemy.
-Chris
Rebirth By Blasphemy is available January 24 from Metal Blade. For more information on Midnight check out their Facebook page.
