Midnight has been on my radar for a while, being one of the more prolific blackened speed metal bands and having put out a banger of an album with Hellish Expectations last month. Supporting them was High Command and Belgium’s own Cyclone.
High Command started the evening off with a blistering pace. The five-piece from Worcester, Massachusetts play hardcore and crossover-infused thrash metal, in the vein of Power Trip. They had an alotted timeslot of 30 minutes and decided to use that to the fullest. The first break from the onslaught was 15 minutes in, with a short band introduction. After that, the gaspedal got pushed in again until the end of the set.
The band has quite a few influences, not only musically but also stylistically. The frontman came on stage wielding a sword, only for it to be put away and reappear with the last song. One of the guitarists also came onstage in what seemed like a camoed bulletproof vest and a balaclava, only to remove the latter halfway the set. While the music and energy was good, visually and stylistically it came across a bit incoherent.
Next up was Belgium’s own Cyclone. The band brought out 2 albums during thrash metal’s heyday: 1986’s ‘Brutal Destruction’ and 1990’s ‘Inferior to None’. Both albums were equally represented with 3 tracks being played from each album. The chugging, headbanging riffs still hold strong today and the ‘youngsters’ in the band most certainly held their own. Particularly the bass tone came through perfectly in the mix.
Halfway the set, the tempo was upped a notch with ‘Take thy Breath’ and the moshpit started growing from that point on. For their penultimate song, they brought us ‘Nothing is Real’. A new tracking with chugging, mid-tempo riffs that most certainly got the heads bobbing and banging. I hope we can take this as a sign of more new material, as the band had previously announced their set at Kortrijk’s Alcatraz will also be recorded.
Ohio’s Midnight is a one-man band by a man under the name ‘Athenar’. Originally the band just put out a couple of EP’s and singles, but got more prolific with the release of the first full length ‘Satanic Royalty’ in 2011.
Live, the band perform as a three-piece with Athenar on bass and vocals. Blackened speed metal mixed with sleazy, dirt and an absurd amount of energy amounted to an explosive performance grabbing everyone by the throat.
Both string-wielders bounced, ran, jumped and tumbled across the stage, only adding to the musical onslaught that they bring. The band performed a best-off their catalogue, including some new work from the newest album like ‘Satanic Slaugthor’, ‘F.O.A.L’ and the titletrack. They came, saw and conquered in a 55-minute Blitzkrieg, but left a serious impact on me and the rest of the crowd. This is an absolute must-see band in a live setting.
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