MIDNIGHT - Sweet Death and Ecstasy

Raging edgy metal from Ohio, MIDNIGHT has been waving the banners of Satanic thrash royalty for an entire era, and now they are coming out with their third album to hold the throne as black n roll’s most savage band.

By the time “Poison Trash” hits I’m on the edge of my seat and already into the bodacious grooves layered under toxic levels of distortion.

The album is short and anything but sweet, however, that’s not to say it isn’t good. Although I think the momentum and energy behind their first two albums is a leap ahead of what is on the third release, Sweet Death and Ecstasy, there is still a lot of potency left in MIDNIGHT that shredders and thrashers are going to be able to enjoy for years. “Poison Trash” definitely has what you might be looking for in a stand out MIDNIGHT track, and should definitely be expected to get the crowd wild at any show.

You can feel the almost satirical darkness of the band in tracks like “Melting Brain”, which are ludicrous lyrically, but conjured with such a thickness in Athenar’s songwriting that you may find yourself gladly sinking into this rocking Hell while laughing at the tongue and cheek lyrics.

The Venom influence is paramount everywhere and most certainly obvious on “Rabid!” and “Bitch Mongrel,” two tracks on the album’s latter half with that definite raw punk rock style that clashes with speed and and deep bluesy guitar tones dripping with acidic abrasiveness.

Iron Monkey - 9-13

There is just something about a classic 90s sludge band that cranks the atmosphere up a notch. Either Iron Monkey album that came out of that decade still holds up.

9-13 is an abrasive assault on par with the gutter music of Iron Monkey's youth. Its juicy grooves and song structures maintain a level of interest from forward to back. Undeniably catchy, the Nottingham three piece have cranked up some voodoo with hooks that downshift into kinetic bluesy jams, then burst out into a spiral of fast break mania; the tracks are casually pummeling and never lose sight of that muddy hardcore punk vibe of the 90s sludge scene. Jim Rushby churns out viscous bayou juke music while simultaneously spitting out glass each time he opens his mouth. The drumming of Brigga is a relentless flood of pulse pounding energy that will guide your step into the undertow of England's hard hitting sludge scene. Steve Watson's bass heavy grooves will shake you loose in any situation whether its in standstill traffic, mopping the floor, or knocking up your neighbor. Solid album. Great stuff.

Release: 10-20-17
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Year of The Cobra - Burn Your Dead

Radical space tripping rock from the great Pacific Northwest, Seattle’s Year of The Cobra are back and crushing with five track EP Burn Your Dead. The EP is a fuzzy hi-fi gnarly jammer with juicy rhythms and clean grooves. There are plenty of pummeling riffs on the album but they don’t lose a sizzling appeal that helps to allure the listener with enchanting tunes. 

Foreboding and menacing, Amy Tung’s vocals have a distinguishing appeal that helps to make the two-piece listenable, and even an edge with some familiarity to early 90s riot grrrl punk rock singers.

Despite some of the positive characteristics, nothing really made me want to remember any of the tracks apart from “The Howl” which stood out to me as the EP’s centerpiece. Because the album is so short, there’s not much to lean on, and I feel that contributes to some of the lackluster. At least there’s some effort to deviate between multiple tempos throughout the tracks, which I found helpful in keeping my attention.

EP releases October 27th 2017!

EP