It may not be fair, but when I see song titles like “Nymphonomicon” and “Kockstruck,” I tend to develop an opinion on the band before I even hear the music. Unfortunately, what Midnight Idols deliver isn’t all that far from the idea that I had.This is pure, adolescent garage metal. The band rips off the early 1980s riffs of bands like Accept, Saxon and Maiden, throws some silly lyrics over them and does it all in a bit of a sloppy way.

Surprisingly, “Nymphonomicon” and the Kiss-influenced “Kockstruck” are the two best (and I use the term very loosely) songs on the record. I kind of get the idea that they’re a bit tongue-in-cheek, and I can laugh along with the juvenile machismo of lyrics that seem to be an excuse to use the word fuck in every possible way they can. You don’t get that on songs like the title track, “Hellfire” or “Upon Cloven Hooves We Ride,” which feature an ultra-serious delivery of often laughable lyrics. (The scowling photo on the cover also doesn’t give the idea that they’re joking, either.)

We’ve seen that bands who have a style firmly rooted in the past can be relevant with acts like Slough Feg, who released one of the best records of 2007. This record, on the other hand, comes off corny, derivitave, and in honesty, silly. As a tongue-in-cheek 1980s metal tribute band, Midnight Idols would work pretty well, and it would probably make an entertaining show in a bar. As serious recording artists? Well, it might be time to retire the spiked wristbands.

[Visit the band's website]

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