Rebirth by Blasphemy is the album I need at the outset of 2020. Every day the world slips a little farther into hell, and if we can't' escape our fate, than at least, we have a killer party once it all implodes into the pit. Enter Ohio's Midnight, the benighted demon-kings of the American speed metal and dark hardcore scenes, the one band who knows how to make our final destination in this slow, grating decline sound absolutely f*cking rad. Rebirth by Blasphemy is Midnight's fourth album and a return to the band's roots following their more esoteric offering, 2017's Sweet Death and Ecstasy. Midnight's Venom-esque camp and morbid preoccupations, combined with the cool cleave of Brocas Helm guitar lines, and the post-apocalyptic raider ethos of Anti-Cimex and Sacrilege, has always found purchase within the darker reservoirs of my bile collecting heart, and this new album is no exception. Rebirth begins consummately with the forced entry and devilish banditry of "Fucking Speed and Darkness," followed by the rock ‘n roll night-terror of the title-track "Rebirth by Blasphemy." If you picked up on a hint of NWOBHM crunch on the latter, then your pallet is already expertly attuned to what this album will be serving up. Rebirth sees Midnight's now-iconic sound overhauled with direct callbacks to the arena swelling clarion cries of Motorhead, Judas Priest, and the like. Along with improved production quality and generally more streamlined songwriting, they've never sounded more forceful. You can feel the breath-stealing gusts of Sad Wings of Destiny era Judas Priest on "Escape the Grave" while "Rising Scum" has more of a British Steel edge to its tribute to all the willful, lustful creatures that writhe in the mud of the Earth. Further tantalizing knife nips can be felt on cuts like the dieseled up "Raw Attack," where the band's adoration for Motorhead burns bright and unashamed, and the forge hardened and flesh-searing death-trip "You Can Drag Me Through Fire." If this is the sound of what is waiting for us in the underworld, then put me on the guest list.
Grab a copy of Rebirth by Blasphemy from Metal Blade.
