Midnight (band)

Midnight
Midnight playing at Party.San Open Air 2019
Midnight playing at Party.San Open Air 2019
Background information
OriginCleveland, Ohio, U.S.
GenresBlack n' roll
Years active2003–present
LabelsHells Headbangers, Metal Blade
Websitemidnightviolators.com

Midnight is an American band that plays a mixture of black metal, speed metal and punk, a style referred to as black n' roll.[1] It was formed as a solo project by Jamie Walters in 2003 in Cleveland, Ohio. Walters, under the pseudonym Athenar, is the only constant member of the band. While he performs vocals and all instruments in studio recordings, he is accompanied by different musicians during live performances. During their live performances, musicians cover their faces with scarves.

History

After the breakup of the punk band Boulder, Jamie Walters founded Midnight as a solo project in Cleveland, Ohio in 2003. Shortly afterwards, the band's first demo was released, followed by numerous self-produced singles and EPs. In 2011, Midnight's debut album Satanic Royalty was released on Hells Headbangers Records. After two more studio albums, Midnight was signed to Metal Blade Records in 2019. The band went on to release their fourth studio album Rebirth by Blasphemy in the same year. Their fifth studio album Let There Be Witchery was released in 2022, also on Metal Blade. In 2020, the music magazine Rock Hard named Midnight one of the "20 hottest bands" of the 2020s.[2]

Midnight has been noted for their live performances; Walters himself describes them as "unfiltered wildness".[3] During his performances, he is accompanied by various live musicians who appear under constantly changing pseudonyms. Some early live musicians included Shaun Filley (ex-NunSlaughter) and Bob Zeiger.[4]

Discography

Midnight at Rock Hard Open Air in Germany, 2014

Studio albums

  • 2011: Satanic Royalty (Hells Headbangers)
  • 2014: No Mercy for Mayhem (Hells Headbangers)
  • 2017: Sweet Death and Ecstasy (Hells Headbangers)
  • 2019: Rebirth by Blasphemy (Metal Blade Records)
  • 2022: Let There Be Witchery (Metal Blade Records)
  • 2024: Hellish Expectations (Metal Blade Records)
  • 2025: Steel, Rust and Disgust (Metal Blade Records)

Demos

  • 2003: Midnight
  • 2004: Leather Sleeve Demo
  • 2012: Satanic Royalty Demos (Say Hello to Mr Fist Records)
  • 2015: No Mercy for Mayhem Demos (Home Taping Cruelties)

Extended plays

  • 2003: Funeral Bell (Outlaw Recordings)
  • 2007: Midnight Violates You Live! (live EP, self-released)
  • 2013: Alive on the Streets of Cleveland! (live EP, Outlaw Recordings)
  • 2021: Rehearsal Vomits (Chained Records)
  • 2023: Haunting the Masonic (live EP, self-released)

References

  1. ^ Malon, Mandy. "MIDNIGHT – RockHard". www.rockhard.de (in German). Retrieved September 8, 2025.
  2. ^ "Heißer als die Hölle: 20 Bands für die 20er Jahre". Rock Hard (in German). No. 395. March 2020. ISSN 1437-8140.
  3. ^ Malon, Mandy (February 2022). "Midnight: Bad Boy For Life". Rock Hard (in German). No. 417. ISSN 1437-8140.
  4. ^ Mühlmann, Wolf-Rüdiger (January 2012). "Midnight: An alle Arschlöcher". Rock Hard (in German). No. 297. ISSN 1437-8140.

Further reading

  • Hannah Verbeuren (2024). MIDNIGHT: A Thousand Nights in Sodom. Bazillion Points. ISBN 978-1-935950-22-6.
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