The American Black/Speed Metallers MIDNIGHT announced that on March 4 2022, they will release their fifth album entitled “Let There Be Witchery”, through Metal Blade Records. At the same time, they’ve released the first single “Szex Witchery”. The album will contain ten arrangements and was recorded at Mercenary Studios with Noah Buchanan as the producer. Responsible for the album’s cover is William Lacey.

Filthy, belligerent and obnoxious, Midnight make music to start fights to. Since 2003, one-man-band Athenar has been churning out an ungodly racket, dropping countless demos, splits and EPs – and in 2022 he returns, delivering a catchy mixture of black metal, speed metal, and dirty punk rock. “I always want it to be loud and nasty,” he asserts. “That kinda thing never gets old with me. How funny will that look to see me at age 77 – if I reach that point – sitting on the porch blasting Hellhammer?”

The title is a combination of the song titles “Let There Be Sodomy” and “Szex Witchery”, Athenar wanting to maintain the tradition of using six syllables. Lyrically, the record is “unfiltered savage animalisticness”, and the deeper the listener delves, the dirtier they get, which is just the way it should be. When it came to tracking the record, Athenar returned to Mercenary Studios in Cleveland, OH and producer Noah Buchanan, who makes it very easy for him to cut loose and make noise, choosing to once again record all the instruments himself despite having a live band that could step in and help out. “It’s still just me and my science project gone awry. I realize I’m musically handicapped, but there’s a charm to it.”

You can listen to this first single at the video that follows.