On March 4, Midnight will release their fifth full-length, Let There Be Witchery, via Metal Blade Records. For a preview of the album, the new single, "Nocturnal Molestation", can be heard below.

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."

Mulling over the question as to why anyone should actually give a shit about Midnight, he once again comes up with a typically Athenar answer: "If I were to give actual good advice, I would say stay clear of anything to do with Midnight. But I'm not a rational thinker, so as usual, I will give terrible advice and say punish your earholes and play this album as loud as your stereo goes, go out to a gig and mingle with others that you don't know, lick their faces and rub upon each other's sweaty torsos to the hellish, neanderthalish noise of a band called Midnight! You gotta release your demons somehow! That's why you should give a shit, or two."

Formats:

- jewelcase-CD
- 180g black vinyl (EU exclusive)
- green marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 666 copies)
- indigo marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 500 copies)
- wine red marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 400 copies)
- violet marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 300 copies)
- clear lavender vinyl (Metal Blade Shop exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
- clear lilac vinyl (High Roller Records exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
- light grey marbled vinyl (Decibel exclusive - limited to 300 copies)
- coke bottle clear vinyl (US exclusive)
- purple / black blend vinyl (US exclusive)
- clear / black haze vinyl (Band exclusive - limited to 200 copies - USA | International)

Pre-order here.

Let There Be Witchery tracklisting:

"Telepathic Nightmare"
"Frothing Foulness"
"In Sinful Secrecy"
"Nocturnal Molestation"
"More Torment"
"Let There Be Sodomy"
"Devil Virgin"
"Snake Obsession"
"Villainy Wretched Villainy"
"Szex Witchery"

"Nocturnal Molestation":

"Szex Witchery":

Shortly after record release, Midnight will head out on the road with Mayhem and Watain for the Sanguine Sodomy Of North America" tour. See below for all dates.

Tour dates:

March
7 - San Francisco, CA - The Regency Ballroom
8 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
9 - Phoenix, AZ - The Nile Theater
11 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot
12 - Denver, CO - The Summit Music Hall
14 - Dallas, TX - Amplified Live
15 - Austin, TX - Mohawk
16 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall
18 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
19 - Tampa, FL - Orpheum
20 - Charlotte, NC - The Underground
22 - Montreal, QC - Club Soda                
23 - Toronto, ON - The Phoenix
25 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
26 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza
27 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza
29 - Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Soundstage
30 - Pittsburgh, PA - The Roxian
31 - Detroit, MI - The Majestic

April
1 - Chicago, IL - The Vic
2 - Minneapolis, MN - Skyway Theatre
3 - Joliet, IL - The Forge

(Photo - Hannah Verbeuren)