Description
Clear with black, red and blue splatter vinyl with one bonus track and printed innersleeve
After nine long years, Cleveland based sleaze machine Midnight finally rise from the mire and unleash their debut album of unkempt and filth laden speed metal upon the rabble, and what an album it is. In short, what is essentially the grime enveloped bastard child of eighties Satan loving shock merchants Venom. The Venom influence is so obscene that Satanic Royalty could almost be mistaken for a lost recording from the UK legends, and Id be fairly certain that theyd also be the first to admit that this is nothing but shameless adoration at the altar of Cronos and co. But when its as good as this, why the fuck should anyone care? The albums title track explodes out of the blocks with the energy of a caffeine soaked cokehead, riffing straight from NWOBHM legends Tank and Athenars obnoxious snarling. Hell, Athenar could well be Cronos himself minus the receding hairline. The central hook to the song is absolutely enormous, dragging you into Midnights vortex of bitches, booze and blasphemy before spitting you out a disorientated mess. First impressions were They cant keep up such a high level of quality and ferocity throughout can they? Amazingly they do, every single track on Satanic Royalty is nothing but high octane Speed Metal strewn with blistering Heavy Metal soloing and neck breaking riffing tied together with maniacal vocals. The lyrics are another thing altogether, theyve got everything from the divine Marching out from the catacombs of hell, Kingdoms falling, Bred to destroy the children of Christ to the peaceful Skullz will crack brains explode and they even manage to make room for a love song in the ever so subtle Lust Filth and Sleaze; You give me lust you give me sleaze, I’m gonna bust when you’re down on your knees. And who says romance is dead eh? If youre looking for the ultimate leather studded and alcohol soaked soundtrack for 2011, then you cant look much further than this. It never deviates from what would be expected of a Venom worship band but remains surprisingly diverse and so engaging that even after repeated listens it never gets old. This is the hurdle where most others attempting the same fall, and Midnight overcomes this with spectacular ease. Satanic Royalty is nothing but pure unadulterated mayhem manifested from a gutter somewhere in Ohio with no aim other than to defile and disgust. Bursting with the raw energy of the genre progenitors Discharge and Venoms NWOBHM-esque demonic racket with the vulgarity of Blackie Lawless, Midnight offer thirty minutes of altogether unholy and thoroughly indecent speed metal which is certain to get the adrenaline flowing and horns throwing. Venom even released a new album this year as well, but why bother when Midnight are currently doing Venom better than Venom themselves?
Track listing:
1. Satanic Royalty
2. You Cant Stop Steel
3. Rip This Hell
4. Necromania
5. Black Damnation
6. Lust Filth and Sleaze
7. Violence on Violence
8. Savage Dominance
9. Holocaustic Deafening
10. Shock Til Blood
11. Tap