. .  
.
.
.         . .
.
... Home | Reviews
SEARCH 
.
.   .
.
Home
Reviews
Latest Reviews

Prong's X - No Absolutes

Rabid Flesh Eaters - Reign of Terror

Coffins/Isla Split

Haken - Affinity

Be'lakor - Vessels

Valdur - Pathetic Scum

Messa - Belfry

Die Choking - III

Sailing to Nowhere - To The Unknown

Black Anvil Interview

Six Feet Under - Graveyard IV The Number of the Priest

Destroyer 666 - Wildfire

Onslaught - Live at the Slaughterhouse

Rotten Sound - Abuse To Suffer

Venomous Concept - Kick Me Silly: VC III

The Great Discord - Duende

Arcana 13 - Danza Macabra

Die Choking - II

Obsidian Kingdom - A Year With No Summer

Thy Catafalque - Sgurr

Denner Shermann - Masters of Evil

DarkBlack - Midnight Wraith Review

by Mark Hensch

.
DarkBlack's Midnight Wraith sounds like a blast from the past despite making its way into record stores this year. This short but slick EP tackles traditional heavy metal, recalling the glory days when bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Thin Lizzy reigned supreme.

It also reaffirms the notion that lightning rarely strikes twice. The energy of the aforementioned legends is lacking in DarkBlack, a band who seems like a pale shadow of such greats. Musically speaking, Midnight Wraith is fun but forgettable, the instrumentality always airtight but rarely intense. Its five songs focus on melody instead of heaviness, forgetting that the golden era metal bands always attacked the masses with both. Vocalist/bassist Tim Smith is particularly hurt by this reality, his wails rarely hitting the right combination of harmonizing and emotional highs.

Such flaws will likely go overlooked by the open-minded and fans of heavy metal's fundamentals. Midnight Wraith wisely masks its shortcomings in brevity – this disc is meant for metalheads who don't mind a speedy jaunt down memory lane. The result is a throwback album as fleeting as memory, brief in its recollection of the music of yore.

"Doom Herald" recalls this epoch with a hunk of heavy metal easily the EP's best. Galloping riffs and searing melodies jockey for position, recalling the axe wizardry imbued in Iron Maiden. In keeping with this parallel, Smith channels Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson, delivering a performance that's his most convincing moment on the album.

Sadly, the pace immediately slackens with "Power Monger," a solid but unremarkable tune that tries showcasing the band's slower side but stutters musically at points. A few of the guitar melodies sound familiar – never good two songs into a record – and Smith's vocals don't reach the same climax as the increasingly searing music backing his voice. By the time a prolonged jam session kicks in, this one has worn out its welcome.

"Golden Idol" is all about melody and rhythm, its bass and guitar lines ambling along through warm, comforting heavy metal bordering on classic hard rock. Its flirtations with lighter fare make it one of the EP's more tepid tunes, a mid-paced rocker that jogs rather than sprints over the finish line. The album's title track contains more force, breezing by with gripping riffs and attention-grabbing leads. The drumming is equally stellar, switching rhythms with the ease of one changing their coats.

"Broken Oath" ends the album by inviting listeners in with a lush melody before breaking loose into full-speed-ahead heavy metal. The chorus is suitably loud and proud, while the guitars contain an arena-ready quality most of the other songs lack. The whole puzzle fits together so well, it's as if the band is making up for lost time.

Midnight Wraith thus marks a quick but distracting dive into heavy metal's youth but little else. Facing backwards in time, it ignores innovation on the off chance genre purists will appreciate its authenticity. The problem with this approach is how high heavy metal's founders set the bar – DarkBlack has trouble competing with the masters of yesterday. For those considering an album purchase in the present, one could do far worse than Midnight Wraith, but only if they don't expect more than an echo of a mightier era.

Tracklisting
Doom Herald
Power Monger
Golden Idol
Midnight Wraith
Broken Oath


Mark Hensch is the editor of Thrashpit. His writing also appears on his Heavy Metal Hensch blog at The Washington Times.


CD Info and Links

DarkBlack - Midnight Wraith

Rating:6.5

Preview and Purchase This CD Online

Visit the official homepage

More articles for this artist

tell a friend about this review

.


...end



Thrash Worthy Link



.
.
antiMUSIC - iconoFAN - Rocknworld - Day in Rock - Rock Search - thrashPIT - iconoSTORE
.
Thrashpit is presented by Rocknworld.com - Part of the antiMusic Network

Tell a Friend about this page - Contact Us - Privacy - Link to us

Copyright© 1998 - 2007 Iconoclast Entertainment Group
All rights reserved.
No Part of this site may be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in any form.
Please click here for legal restrictions and terms of use applicable to this site.
Use of this site signifies your agreement to the terms of use. Updated 12-19-99