NightSatan — Midnight Laser Warrior
I guess if you can imagine beat bound early 1980’s Tangerine Dream meeting a guitar-less and bass-less Goblin. With a liberal dollop of bass synth bound and dramatic keyboard work ala John Carpenter soundtrack work, a quick sprinkle of late 70’s prog band keyboard playing, and all topped of with a pinch of Finish craziness…. then you’ll get an idea of what to expected here. The bands made up of two synth players who play a mixture of Korgs, Rolands, Casio digital guitars and moogs. With the third member playing synth drums which are aptly called ‘lazer drums’.
This début album features seven tracks in all that run between just over the five and a half minute mark to just over the twelve minute mark. And for the most part all the tracks here are fairly up-beat and electro drum lined in there feel, with the pair of synth players summoning up a great mixture of memorable and dramatic melodies. My only slight criticism here is some of the tracks melodies do sound a little too familiar in places or very close to stuff that already exists from the 80s be it soundtrack textures and riffs or 80’s metal converted to the synth way- take “Steel Diamond part 4” which starts out sounding like a slowed down and gone synth version of the
beginning of Iron Maiden’s “Wasted Years” from the bands 1986 album “Somewhere in Time”. But I guess when ones trying to make a retro sounding album there’s always going to be a tendencie to borrow melodies from your chosen period too, and really most of the time this borrowing is more charming than blatant rip off as the band do attempt to do something different with each of theses elements or melodies.
All told “Midnight Laser Warrior” is a fairly consistent, mostly memorable and often dramatic collection of retro and up-beat synth scaping that I can see appealing to fans of 70’s and 80’s synth bound soundtracks & electronica. Certainly a worthy and worthwhile full length début, and I look forward to hearing how the band develop.