MIDNIGHT — Let There Be Witchery (review)

MIDNIGHT — Let There Be Witchery album cover

Album · 2022 · Speed Metal

3.5/5 · 2022-03-08
siLLy puPPy

For those not in the know, MIDNIGHT may sound like a black metal band that only comes out at the witching hour to wreak misanthropic rage upon the unsuspecting but in reality has been and still is the one-man project of Jameson Walters better known as Athenar who started cranking out his MIDNIGHT releases in 2011 with the now blackened speed metal cult classic “Satanic Royalty.” Blackened speed metal you ask? You bet. While it may be tempting to assume that such a combo pack died out in the 80s with bands like Venom before speed metal morphed into thrash and the first primeval traces of black metal evolved into the second wave, well there’s always someone out there who wants to keep this mangled amorphous pre-splintering of metal sub-genres alive.

With a propensity of six syllable album titles, MIDNIGHT returns in 2022 to deliver his fifth installment in the MIDNIGHT canon with LET THERE BE WITCHERY which features another collection of filthy blackened speed thrash metal replete with all those classic Venom, Motorhead and Hellhammer mined from the 80s underground. Starting with 2020’s “Rebirth By Blasphemy,” MIDNIGHT joined the ranks of the Metal Blade universe which meant an improved production that took his murky muddy blackened speed metal filth to slightly cleaner professionalism however this is no slickly produced pop metal act by any means and the authenticity of the underground metal sonicity is fully in tact and ready to blow up speakers and eardrums far and wide.

Stylistically MIDNIGHT has remained a consistent act over his decade long run with that classic mix of speed metal, first wave black metal and now diminished thrash metal attacks. This music keeps that classic groove alive that many styles of metal have abandoned in lieu of atmospheric terror in this stage of the 21st century. LET THERE BE WITCHERY nurtures those classic early metal attributes such as a bluesy rock chord progression which has earned this stuff the secondary tag of black’n’roll. This is very much a instantly catchy type of metal from the vaults of several decades prior with Motorhead balls-to-the-wall style riffing all dressed up in the drastically distorted early blackened speed metal sounds of Venom, Hellhammer and early Bathory. It’s like a dance party with Satan because even the dark side likes to take a break from the heady atmospheric space metal of the modern era.

In many ways i like MIDNIGHT’s version of old school black speed metal even better than VENOM for Athenar seems to have ironed out all the wrinkles of those early recordings by adding consistently catchy almost ear wormy grooves, stellar guitar riffs that aren’t afraid to add a solo or two and a black metal vocal singing style that sounds a bit like the Japanese band Sigh. The boogie-woogie groove also reminds a bit of what early AC/DC would have sounded like had they gone full-on metal and there are hints of early NWOBHM moments in the vein of Judas Priest, Saxon etc but overall the Venom heritage is most pronounced and even though Venom has remained a thing in the metal world ever since they dropped their “Welcome To Hell” bomb in 1981, their songwriting skills suffered mightily after the first few albums and became rather marginal as the rest of the world passed them by.

LET THERE BE WITCHERY is another enchanting slice of MIDNIGHT in unadulterated retro form as he keeps those classic years alive in the context of a modern production value. While this style of gestating extreme metal has never been my absolute favorite of the lot, i cannot deny how well MIDNIGHT has channeled his inner Motorhead, Venom and Hellhammer to craft an authentically sounding period piece of this neglected sliver of the metal timeline. Lemmy would be proud! Perfectly performed in every way but if you’re looking for any form of originality then look elsewhere because what MIDNIGHT delivers here is a faithful restoration of a sound from long ago however it’s done so very very well that if you have any interest in this period of early metal then you really can’t go wrong with any MIDNIGHT release and LET THERE BE WITCHERY keeps those black magic spells in good form.