Midnight – Hellish Expectations
Reviewed By: Jim Harrison
Review Score: 9
Midnight is set to release onto humanity an album that is the perfect soundtrack for a fight. Hellish Expectations continues from their last highly acclaimed album, 2022’s Let There Be Witchery, with their unique brand of metal/punk/underground that is aggressive and full of testosterone.
Lone member, Althenar, who plays all instruments and vocals, has created a niche in metal that also includes speed metal plus a NWOBHM vibe that makes this so intriguing. According to Althenar, this album was written in one weekend after listening to raw tracks from the previous album which makes this even more impressive. Partnering with Metal Blade records for the first time, I predict this album will reach more perspective fans with a strong distribution helping to spread Midnight’s assault to the masses.
The album begins with a punch to the face with first track ‘Expect Total Hell’. With a killer Motörhead vibe, the track absolutely explodes as if you were detonating a bomb. Heavy, fast guitars and aggressive vocals gives a hint at how brutal this album is going to be. ‘Gash Scrape’ has a cool guitar fade-in and, again, this track just takes off. The song has a cool heavy punk sound that will smash any mosh pit. This will become a great live track.
‘Masked And Deadly’ begins with some fast guitar riffing while the performance behind the skins gives this track a killer groove. The wicked guitar solo is fantastic and another great vocal performance. ‘Slave To The Blade’ is the shortest song on the album, clocking in at 1:51. The song has an amazing beat and once again summons that Motörhead groove. This is one of my personal favourites on the album… it’s such a massive song.
‘Dungeon Lust’ keeps the assault on your senses going with its pounding drum beat. The track has a slower groove but is super heavy and has a darker direction and creates a cool whip sound. ‘Nuclear Savior’ was one of the early singles released and gave fans some insight on how brutal the album was shaping up to be. The beginning of this track has a fast early Metallica sound with a wicked guitar riff and killer solo.
‘Deliver Us To Devil’ has more of a thrash vibe mixed with punk crossover producing a heavy sound. ‘Mercyless Slaughtor’ has a cool heavy bass and guitar intro. This is another song with a heavy darker sound, aggressive vocals, and killer guitar solo. Another favourite of mine. ‘Doom Death Desire’ begins with a blood curdling scream that ignites this track in an epic fashion. Another fast, heavy song that will certainly be a cool track to catch live. The guitar solo is fantastic.
‘F.O.A.L’, the final song (the first single and video released for the album), and is an acronym that stands for ‘Fuck Off And Live’. It’s an anthem of a song that ends this album on a high. The lyrics focus on the angst that Midnight is famous for. The track covers punk, traditional metal, and thrash metal and leaves one feeling beaten and physically tired with its speed and aggression.
What I like most about Midnight is that they are always honest and do not cater to any trends or fads. Their music is created for fans of aggressive metal, which, to this scribe, is super important. With each release the band continues to put out ground-breaking material and this album certainly solidifies that.
Hellish Expectations will delight Midnight‘s existing fanbase while also serving as a perfect gateway album for new fans. One thing is for certain: once you get into Midnight you are a violator for life. Pick this up and crank it to eleven!
Hellish Expectations drops March 8th via Metal Blade Records.