I’m going to admit that I didn’t like Midnight at first. I don’t know why they play this DIY style of Punk, Death Metal, and old school Thrash. Stuff I like and by this point they’re pretty fucking good at it.

Athenar is a workhorse, putting out a slew of singles, splits, compilations, even a live album, before he unleashed Satanic Royalty in 2011. They flew under my radar until I saw them live (I forget with who. It might have been Gwar…). Anyway, I didn’t get it. Poof, right over my head. But now… shit, I can’t get enough of these crazy Ohioans. Cleveland definitely rocks, in fact, so much that the first track on Steel, Rust and Disgust is called “Cleveland Metal”.

This is a covers album, which is fine; I can dig it. That means that only “Cleveland Metal”, the title track, is an original song.

It’s still Midnight playing though and the works of stalwarts Screamin’ Jay Hawkins “Frenzy”, David Allen Coe “Rock n’ Roll Fever” and Dead Boys with a ripping rendition of “3^rd Generation Nation”.

They fuck shit up on “Agitated” a scorching Electric Eels cover and Midnight makes it their own, sounding like Mötörhead on crack. “Iron Beast” is another baddie, a blistering rendition of Kratos’ track. There’s not a bad song on Steel, Rust and Disgust. I mean if I’m going to be honest, I’ve never heard some of these songs or bands. David Allen Coe is a fucking legend, as are the Dead Boys and Screamin’ Jay fucking Hawkins, hearing their songs in this manner is exhilarating and super fun.

The fact that you haven’t heard some of this is a moot point (I used moot for the first time in a review), but you know what I mean. “Carrions Keep” from False Hope and “Black Leather Rock” by the Electric Eels are automatic favorites.

To say that Steel, Rust and Disgust is an enjoyable record is an understatement. It’s an unrelenting banger, a tribute to the Rebels of Rock’ n Roll. “I’m Insane” by Synastryche gets a psychotic adaptation as does “Final Solution” by Rocket From the Tombs.

I am aware that Midnight’s fan base is rabid as hell. Fortunately for me, this has been a positive review, therefore securing my safety from any hate mail.

Midnight is in a class by themselves, that’s been obvious since the first album Athenar released in 2003 under the moniker of Midnight. Worship at their altar because they are gods. For you sickos that like Venom, Hellhammer and Bathory (pre-Viking era). Get it!

 

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