Album Review: Midnight - Hellish Expectations
Reviewed by Richard Oliver
Opening with a track titled ‘Expect Total Hell’ is either a warning or more likely a mission statement for Midnight - the one-man band blackened speed metal formed by Aethenar originally as a side-project whilst he was fronting heavy metal band Boulder. Midnight has now become the main outlet for Aethenar with countless splits, E.P.’s and several albums released as Midnight as well as extensive touring and now we have album number six 'Hellish Expectations'.
I had hellish expectations for this album and they have been very much met. If you have listened to the Midnight back catalogue then you should know exactly what you are going to get and that is very much the case here, Midnight are a classic example of “if it ain’t broke then don’t fix it” and 'Hellish Expectations' is another sleazy and filthy blast of speed metal and heavy metal with a blackened twist to it and a punked up attitude.
This is an album that is short, sharp and very much to the point with ten songs spanning a duration of 25-26 minutes and it doesn’t waste a second. The album may be short but it is chock full of gnarly fucked up metal anthems such as ‘Slave Of The Blade’, ‘Deliver Us To Devil’ and ‘F.O.A.L.' which are caustic and very much in your face but also so damn catchy with all containing utterly killer filthy riffs, d-beat drumming and the Aethenar’s furious snarl.
'Hellish Expectations' is another great release from Midnight. It refuses to break the mould and is just a blast to the face of killer old school raw speed metal which is old school in its sound, aesthetics and attitude. It doesn’t try to be anything else but Midnight and like the rest of the back catalogue it is as good a stepping on point as any for someone who has yet to be exposed to Midnight. For fans it will meet all expectations being the bastard love child of Venom, Motörhead and Hellhammer that we have come to love.
