Midnight – Hellish Expectations Review

Oh shit, there’s a new Midnight record! Since 2011’s Satanic Royalty, Athenar’s blackened speed/thrash outfit has been pumping out records every two-to-three years like clockwork. And, unlike others playing this style, Midnight continues to grow in its sound and continues to surprise me with its impressive guitar skills and onstage presence. If you haven’t seen them live, you are doing yourself a disservice. Like their albums, there’s no fluff or filler in their shows. They play, they play some more, embed their fans in the moment, and then they’re done. With this style, I appreciate the approach—avoiding the unnecessary fanfare and cranking out one badass tune after another. Two years ago, Athenar released perhaps his best album in Let There Be Witchery. And it’s one that I continually return to again and again. But this year’s Hellish Expectations strips everything back, delivering ten new songs in the shortest runtime of Midnight’s career.

Though Hellish Expectations is considered a full-length release, its mere twenty-five-minute runtime puts it somewhere between an EP and an LP. But, as I said earlier, the tightness of their releases makes the band successful. And that ideology stands true for Hellish Expectations. This new record is packed to the brim with ten songs of utter chaos, incorporating influences ranging from Celtic Frost and Venom to Motörhead and Darkthrone. Though the album is short and sweet, there’s more than enough hellishness to inspire mass grave robbing and necrophilia. After all, Mercyful Fate said it best: “And I’ll be the first to watch your funeral. And I’ll be the last to leave…”

“Expect Total Hell” kicks things off in classic, Midnight fashion, tearing through an old-school speed lick with harsh viciousness. If you still haven’t got around to listening to this band, regardless of how much praise I throw their way, the opener supplies one of the elements that set Midnight apart from others: the guitar work. Razor-sharp, as always, the solo on this track cuts you like a knife, and the subtle melody in the chords concludes the song with a tinge of Motörhead flavoring. However, the coolest solo on the record belongs to “Nuclear Savior.” Massively overdriven, this solo sounds like it could have been played by Marty McFly as he shocks the crowd in Back to the Future. But, instead of Marty McFly, it’s some psychopath in a black mask and spiky arms and shit.¹

The heaviest hitters on the album are “Dungeon Lust” and “Mercyless Slaughtor.” Both have wildly addictive (if very simple) choruses and a villainous intention to perform brain surgery through your asshole. “Dungeon Lust” has a crushing, cruising pace that brings to mind Let There Be Witchery’s killer “More Torment.” Even the hilarious whip-cracking that concludes the song is the perfect addition to this Sodom-inspired beauty. “Mercyless Slaughtor” follows a similar pattern of mid-paced nastiness, invoking Celtic Frost subtleties that never venture from their course—continuing to bury you in crusting filth. But, no Midnight record is complete with a bit of melody. The closer, “F.O.A.L.”,² shows off some soothing, old-school leads that introduce a popping groove and inspiring(?) chorus. Not only is it a fun track, but it’s a great way to conclude the album.

While Let There Be Witchery continues to be the best album Midnight has ever released, Hellish Expectations ain’t far behind. This new record is every bit as filthy as anything the band has released, and its compact length makes it the perfect repeat album when your in-laws are over. While “Deliver Us to Devil” is rather one-dimensional and “Doom Death Desire” is more straightforward than the rest (no matter how hooking its chorus is), neither affects the flow and enjoyment of the disc. For a band that was conceived as nothing more than a side project of EPs and splits, Athenar continues to fill a void that so many cannot. While Midnight’s output is nothing more than a stagnant pond brimming with slime and algae, it’s the buzzing flies circling above it that swirl the waters just enough to keep me coming back again and again.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Metal Blade Records
Websites: midnight-ohio.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/midnightviolators
Releases Worldwide: March 8th, 2024