Athenar, the satanic one man band, has once again graced us with a new Midnight record! I am always down for a band like Midnight as the music is so dark and dingy yet so fun for what it is: Old School blackened punk rock n roll derived from bands like Venom, Bathory and Hellhammer. However, with this record we get the band evolving a bit more. Not to the point of being unrecognizable but building upon the hellish grounded sound we have come to love already.
Open with the barnstorming "Fucking Speed and Darkness", we see that the sound production has gotten bigger and badder. The Midnight I love is still there but it just sounds so much more perfect. One thing this album does expand on as well is the melody in the guitars. Sure we have pure ear slaughtering tunes like "Escape The Grave" and the wonderfully titled "Devil's Excrement" but we also have songs that hang on melody like the ending tune "You Can Drag Me Through the Fire" and even some pure oldschool punk in the form of "The Sounds Of Hell". These are minor changes from the established Midnight formula but enough to make this record feel different and fresh. Even a song like "Warning From The Reaper" that hangs heavily on a groove is just as good on the tenth play through. The only song that sort of drags is "Rising Scum" which goes for a more fist pounding and chant-like tempo that just kind of slows the album down but is still fun nonetheless.
Overall, this is a fun as "hell" metal record that is one every fan of dingy satanic heavy metal will enjoy. The sound is largely the same but even more refined and keeps the energy and interest up all the way through. This definitely shows that Midnight have been on a heavy roll the past few albums and hopefully they keep plowing through!
7/10
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