Tysondog "Midnight" (2022)

1) Batallion

2) It Lives

3) Hellbound

4) Defiant

5) Midnight

6) Dead Man Walking

7) Paper Cuts

8) Cold Day in Hell

9) Waiting for God

Label: From the Vaults

The say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Well, Tysondog prove this wrong. I’m sure many reviews have already mentioned in what year the band was formed, how many albums they have released and when the previous one came out. The fact is that these, let’s put it this way, very experienced musicians managed to release a very decent and powerful record. Unlike some other yesterday heavy metal/NWOBHM heroes, who turned into mumbling pensioners, this quintet delivers real metal! Some of the songs on “Midnight” sound almost like thrash metal, or, if you find it an overstatement, USPM. Check out the opener “Battalion” or “Defiant” for details. Straightforward riffs which kick you right in the guts and energy, that’s what I missed on Tysondog’s previous effort “Cry Havoc”. Now the band sounds like they have drunk a few cases of “Red Bull” before going to the studio. All musicians give their best on the album but I’d love to mention “Clutch” Carruthers. His raspy but yet powerful voice sounds great again after the dull performance on “Cry Havoc”. Along with blasting songs there are haunting but yet melodic “It Lives”, heavy as fuck “Hellbound” and “Cold Day in Hell” (no, they don’t sound like Sepultura or Cannibal Corpse, but they smash you like a hammer anyway), intricate and mind-drilling title track. “Dead Man Walking” combines melodic licks and groovy riffs, and probably is my least favourite song on the album, but the next one, epic and dramatic “Paper Cuts”, is so great, that I can forgive the band everything! The album ends with a creepy song “Waiting for God”. What?! 40 minutes have passed already? Come on, guys, give us more stuff like that! One song at least. OK, OK, 40 minutes is really enough, and the band understands this. Reasons to complain? There are many and they depend on your personal tastes: no high-pitched vocals, no death metal growling, no keyboards, no shredding narcissistic solos, no boring ballads — nothing but good heavy metal with some power/thrash influences.

Rating: 8/10