Midnight: Let There Be Witchery (2022, Metal Blade Records)
There’s never enough punk and metal on a Midnight album. This will not be the discordant note.
The first time I heard Midnight, back in 2011, was with their masterful debut Satanic Royalty, a tremendous album in which a number of genres coexist and that practically dazzled me with the combination of its black metal with shades of the Motörhead of the eighties which resulted in a very complete album that, in the company of good beer, is enjoyed in the best way one could imagine.
Its second full-length, No Mercy for Mayhem, arrived three years later and quickly became one of my favorites of 2014. Allied Forces had not come to life at that time and I imagined what I would have written about an album as perfect as it is. The speed and rawness of Midnight had come to stay and with No Mercy for Mayhem it established itself as a solid and constant project that at that time already had four EPs, two studio albums, four splits and three compilations full of rage and speed, a lot of speed.
I didn’t end up connecting with Sweet Death and Ecstasy right away, perhaps it caught me offside and I didn’t know how to properly value a work like this with which I finally connected again and, in some way, got back on the Midnight bandwagon. In any case, I still think that sometimes he slows down the pace too much and in that sense I prefer his first two albums, faster and more direct. However, with Rebirth & Blasphemy I really jumped in on the first listen and found it far superior to its predecessor, an opinion I maintain today.
The album opens with the dark and fast Telepathic Nightmare as you would expect on any album by the outstanding Jamie Walters, the person behind the pseudonym Athenar. Once again we immerse ourselves in this bleak universe created by Midnight in which anything can happen. Athenar‘s heartbreaking voice continues to offer records from hell itself as the British visionary known as Cronos did in his day, leader of the pioneers Venom who have clearly influenced Midnight‘s music in each and every way.
If the start of this Let There Be Witchery is pure and simple speed, the rest of the album does not move away from the starting point at all. Did anyone expect something different? Fire and steel come together in Frothing Foulness as if they were a single element, combining aggressiveness and power with a sharp and at the same time purely insane sound, a trademark of the house. Guitar solos are the order of the day and although Midnight‘s formula is not far from what we have already heard in previous releases, the abrupt way in which this second cut concludes is surprising to say the least, giving way to a catchy In Sinful Secrecy with which it continues to give war and pleasure in equal parts.
Having mentioned Venom at first, it is time to name Lemmy‘s inescapable Motörhead, another of the pivotal bands in the development of the American multi-instrumentalist’s music and technique. The melody and speed generate a beastly Nocturnal Molestation with which they once again elevate speed to its greatest exponent. The insane sound that Midnight achieves on this album is supremely crazy, and Athenar seeks perfection in each of his compositions that give life to this project.
The first side of the album closes with a heavy but more relaxed More Torment with which the musician takes the opportunity to play wonderfully with portentous and corpulent riffs that submerge us in the darkness in a pleasant way to hit us squarely with Let There Be Sodomy, a much sharper and more revolutionized cut loaded with plucks halfway between speed and the khakiest thrash. The drum beats accompany us at all times to delight us with a rhythmic base that gets into your head and that remains etched in your mind after finishing the first lap of the album.
Devil Virgin starts with a much heavier sound than its predecessors and gradually puts us into a mid-tempo influenced by the NWOBHM to deviate from the path as we reach the chorus. This song in question has a certain aroma of the German metal of the first Accept albums, speaking of the rhythmic part, although taken to the terrain of Midnight. Suddenly we come across Snake Obsession and everything blows up. The guitars stir and the drums gallop at full speed while Athenar spits out each of the words that give life to this sonic marvel that is capable of blowing your brains out in less than three minutes.
Sunset is approaching and the time has come to grab a few beers and sing at the top of your lungs the chorus of Villany Wretched Villany, one of the most addictive songs on the entire album that it would be a mistake to leave out of the setlist. Even today there are people who continue to ask me what I see in this project that I don’t find in other bands of the genre. I don’t have an answer, but if those people listened to this song I’m sure they would understand it more easily.
It’s time to say goodbye to the album with a true anthem: Szex Witchery. Athenar continues to revolutionize the metal scene with that mix of genres highly influenced by black metal with touches of speed and some punk, although here it continues to demonstrate that the play with heavy is more present than ever. The main riff is a delight and reminds me in part of the brutal Headbanger Bitch by the now defunct Wastëland Riders, although in some ways it has a very close air to the brutal No Glory Found by the also defunct Speedtrap, to give two different but similar examples, maybe so similar.
Szex Witchery does not delay at any time and leaves you wanting much more, and that is one of the main virtues of Midnight. You can play their albums one after the other and you never get bored of listening to them. Midnight once again reveals this colossal combination of black, thrash and speed with an outstanding album that quickly becomes one of my favorites of the band and so far this year.
