MIDNITE HELLION – Kingdom Immortal

Everyone in this world sure has asked this question at least once in their life – what if…? What if the Yukatan meteor never hit the Earth and thus the dinosaurs never got wiped out? What if things got a bit out of hand back in the early 60s so the nuclear war would have actually started? There are plenty of questions that start with these two magical words – what if. Some Metal fans must have wondered what if Mayhem decided to carry on being Mayhem, but cease to be Black Metal? What if Dave Mustaine didn’t have reasons to hate Metallica back in the mid 80s, so his music wouldn’t need to be as fast as on Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good? Unlike the questions about the dinosaurs and the cold war, these Metal questions can be answered at least to some extent, as long as one decides to check the freshly released second full-length album Kingdom Immortal by New Jersey metallers called Midnite Hellion. And to avoid misunderstandings of any sort: there’s more to that release than just that.

The first song “H.M.O.” kicks in and some comments can be made less than a minute through it; this stuff is heavy, catchy and well produced. That should be enough to keep potential music nerds from turning it off right away. It’s mostly this song that sounds much like both Mayhem and mid 80s Thrash… if they were slowed down a bit and produced a bit differently also. Where the old school sound meets AD 2022… more songs come and go and Kingdom Immortal is definitely no disappointment, although it feels as though some grains of sand got in-between the cogs of pure awesomeness, there could be more flow there. But it is clearly getting better with every song. The fourth track “Rapscallion” very much sounds like where Judas Priest meets some raw Punk, and those tempo changes definitely add some excitement to the overall sound. The end comes quite unexpectedly too – looks like the guys at Midnite Hellion like to give their audience a bit of a surprise now and then. Where one song ends out of the blue, a new one must begin. This time it’s about a composition that’s barely 2:30, but such dynamic songs don’t need much more. This track, aptly titled “Speed Demon” is definitely one of the best on this album. Fans of Gama Bomb should approve of it, there’s no doubt about that. The only annoying thing about it really is that it ends.

It is worth pointing out that the songs on Kingdom Immortal have some tasty bass lines and that’s definitely the case when one checks the 6th track titled “Resurrected”. Fans of Metallica may think of “Leper Messiah” off Master of Puppets, that however only concerns the intro. Forget the initial remarks about lack of flow – all of the sand has been removed and the cogs have been greased. The album comes to an end quickly – the final track “In Sickness and Hell” is another short and energetic one that should have everyone move to that Metal groove. The bass intro may bring the one from Iron Maiden’s “Clairvoyant” to mind, except if songs were bands, then “Clairvoyant” should be opening for “In Sickness and Hell”. This is another solid song that, just like “Speed Demon” ends very quickly. Too quickly.

And so is the album through. With just 8 tracks it is anything but boring or unnecessarily spiked with fillers that some bands always need to include. What’s really cool about Kingdom Immortal is that despite some similarities to mid 80s Thrash, it really does not sound like a rip-off in any way. It is full of cool riffs, solid rhythm sections and decent solos. Some songs, such as “Army of the Dead” which happens to be the 7th track are perfect sing-alongs already. A new life is born… just like in one song by Queen, but in this instance it is about a new band being born… Somehow… I have to make this final breakthru… NOW! For all the world should care, that’s just what the guys at Midnite Hellion need right now – a breakthru. With such records as Kingdom Immortal the world should be their oyster. Looks like there are bands out there that can take over once even more legendary acts have finally called it a day…