Midnight Hour
Untitled release
Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt
This band bangs out a pretty good dose of heavy rock and some pretty good songs. The vocals are produced in such a way that doesn't capitalize on the singer's voice, and therefore becomes a weakness. The piercing solos and crunchy rhythms try to save the songs, but weak vocals will keep widespread success away - especially in the arena of commercial hard rock.
"Michael's Cry" is the standout cut, with a rapid lyric delivery and snare attack as the band kicks it into high gear. It must be named after Michael the archangel, because it describes quite a spiritual fight. It kicks!
Some of the tunes, like "Fighter," try to drag out old 80's metal riffs that don't quite knock out the listener. The ballad "Give Your Love to Me" asks, "Do you really wanna know what love is?" which sounds like a note-for-note cherry-pick of the Foreigner hit "I Want to Know What Love is."
There's some great ideas and good musicianship here, like the riffs in "Experience the Power," but they never quite jell together with the vocals to create something special.