Midnight Steel, Rust And Disgust CD Review

Midnight is a rare breed. Their (Athenar’s) talent for being able to pull off such an array of genres so seamlessly while being able to intertwine them at the drop of a hat is truly impressive. In my world, they’re pretty much the perfect metal band. If you’re in the mood for foot on your throat speed metal, they can do that. If you’re feeling froggy and want ominous blackened thrash, they’ve got you covered. And if you’re wanting some straightforward, hard hitting rock ‘n’ roll, you can bet your ass they deliver the goods.

As Midnight is not a band to fall in line and do the same thing that has been done ad nauseam, their new album, ‘Steel, Rust and Disgust’, is a covers album, but it’s different in that it pays homage to bands from Ohio, more specifically Cleveland, not ironically where the band is from.  What’s also worth mentioning is that there are a couple of original tracks here as well - “Cleveland Metal” and “Steel, Rust and Disgust”. The former being the catalyst that had me amped and even more excited to dive deep into the album.  I’ll be honest, there were a few artists here who I was unfamiliar with, but some of them ended up being my favorite offerings on the album. Rubber City Rebels’ “Child Eaters” had me right away with the bass riff and then the spoken part about being stuck with a kid and all the shitty things that go along with it had me in stitches. “I’m Insane” by Synastryche is a banger in the vein of Toxic Holocaust and Motörhead.

Even though there were some songs I was really interested in checking out like “Frenzy” by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and “Rock N’ Roll Fever” by David Allan Coe, there were two that I was especially hyped up about, those being “Final Solution” by Rocket from the Tombs and “3rd Generation Nation” by the Dead Boys. I mean, ‘Young, Loud and Snotty’ and ‘We Have Come for Your Children’ are quintessential punk albums, so anything covered off of them would’ve been awesome and “3rd Generation Nation” absolutely crushes. It’s one of my favorite Dead Boys covers I’ve heard (and there are a lot of them). I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention both of the Electric Eels covers, “Black Leather Rock” and “Agitated”, although “Black Leather Rock” sounds like it was tailor made for the Midnight treatment.

According to Athenar, ‘Steel, Rust and Disgust’ encompasses artists who have, “shared the same sights, sounds, and sewage of my region of birth.” If you enjoy any of the songs here, especially the originals, I can assure you that it’s worth your time to check out Midnight’s catalog. If you’re a metal or punk fan, I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed. 

~TJ