Midnight Line

some of those dressed in leather, hey. Nah, don’t let your imagination run too wild, folks, but honestly these lads’ music reminds me so much of the US heroes Leatherwolf that I caught myself double and triple-checking to see if I hadn’t made a mistake and had grabbed the new opus of the Wolves…

no, no mistake here, this is a Brazilian outfit, having already released an EP (“Streets of Nowhere”) seven years prior, the title a possible reference to Leatherwolf’s “Street Ready” as again the music is quite comparable, an excellent power/speed metal combination which easily produces instant memorable hits, the singer’s clean attached timbre quite reminiscent of the one of Michael Olivieri, maybe a tad hoarser and lower-pitched… predilections towards the US cohort also exhibited with the bass player’s alias (Lonewolf).

The promises made with the EP have been fully fulfilled, and not only because all the four tracks from it have also been included here. No change of style on the new material, the guys sweeping the scenery initially with the infectious speed metal anthem “Iron Mask”, a perfect start with great melodic guitar licks and vitriolic tempos, this cut also a winker at the early Helloween heritage. The dynamics remains high, mind you, either with wayward American gallops (“Nighttime Drifter”) or with other urgent fast-paced pyrotechnics (“Power of Thunder”) timely served, the band also very adept at epitomizing the heavy, more slowly-building semi-gallop (“Child in the Night”, “Flight of Phoenix”), a non-rushed ingredient also providing opportunities for a more epic-sounding layout. Since we’re talking riders, here, expect a galloping all-instrumental proposition titled “Riders”, naturally, a really cool display of guitar virtuosity with echoes of Iron Maiden as well; but run for cover on the explosive hyper-active shredder “False Messiah”, a possible analogue to the shattering “Black Knight” from “Street Ready” although the cut here is vocalized; before a more complex progressive trajectory rises with “Tyrants Falling”, a varied opus with dramatic arrangements and heavier riff-patterns.

This is so classic, so 80’s-sounding that the nostalgic value may cloud your judgement a bit… but just a bit, hey, as the lads know their craft inside-out, and also their influences, playfully throwing winks and nods at both extinct and still operational luminaries, obviously having a lot of fun in the process. And consequently, entertaining the listener as well, the latter shedding a tear or two from the memories flooding his/her consciousness, also fighting with this bout of gratitude rising, caused by the fact that there are young musicians at present who are so well aware of the genre’s heydays, also willing to pay it a handsome tribute, ready to keep the flame burning from here to possibly eternity.

So no defects then? Very few, now that the nostalgia is gone; the vocalist charmingly falters on the more dramatic higher tones, but this unmitigated shortcoming, only fleetingly noticed, even consolidates the retro feel instilled… we’re on a horse-riding tour through metal history; we want the semi-polished basics, the determination, the drive, the devotion… all those also nicely displayed on the musicians’ other project, the more heavy metal-fixated Night Prowler (one full-length, 2018). Not a nice place, the street nowadays, with shady riders and other unsavoury entities prowling around… but we’re ready, we will last, as long as we have these archaic tunes from the distant past vehemently shaking our heads.