Midnight Sin – Sex First

Sex First is the debut album from Italian sleaze rockers Midnight Sin. Formed in 2010 the band promote themselves playing a sexy combination of Sleaze Rock, Hard Rock and AOR.

The intro starts off with jovial carnival feel to it which quickly fades to a more industrial sound with hints of an alien invasion going on – the voice over speaks of being infected and impure with sin – before the opening bars of ‘Midnight Revolution’ fire up. Intro aside, this is one hell of an album opener, pure balls to the wall glam metal with a modern twist. If you think what bands such as Faster Pussycat and Pretty Boy Floyd were pumping out in the early 90’s but with 2014 quality production you will get somewhere close. This theme continues through ‘Feed Me with Lies’ with its chunky opening basslines and strong riffs until we reach ‘No Matter’. Instantly this feels like a more mature number, reminiscent of ‘Hardline’ from the ‘Double Eclipse’ era.

Up next is a tasty melodic number, and we all know every glam band needs a good ballad, right? Well Midnight Sin have given us more than our fair share on ‘Sex First’ and this I can assure you is a good thing Sitting half way through the album ‘Till its gone away’ is a worthy offering showing the variety Albert Fish offers with his vocals, but follow up track ‘You Piss Me Off’ is the standout track from this pair. Opening with a county feel to it the ballad had me doing a few double takes at the lyrics – yes, this would not be out of place on a Steel Panther album! Followed up with the raucous ‘Rise & Yell we are treated once again to the crisp guitars and vocal swagger of an all-out glam monster, reminiscent of Poison of the Flesh & Blood era, with vocals that would not be out of place on a Ratt album.

I’m not normally a man who likes albums that changes pace from song to song, so after the tempo picked up with ‘Rise & Yell’ I was a tad disappointed it slowed down again so soon. My disappointment is completely unfounded as I get into superb slow rocker ‘Code: 69’. Despite the cheeky title this song offers us the best melodic rock experience of the album so far. Soaring vocals combined with lead guitar that clearly shows influence from Slash himself, but with a more intricate yet still very polished sound. Further hard-core glam goodness is delivered in a package called ‘2 Words’ which opens with a full frontal aural assault of guitar, drums and words. This track doesn’t mess about with Crue-esque lead and rhythm, and comes complete with full cowbell drumkit backing the powerful solos.

So as the piano opens up for the final track, slow power ballad ‘Sweet Pain’ I take some time to reflect on ‘Sex First’ as a complete offering. On the one hand the album brings a well-produced, nicely matured melodic rock hard rock sound into the already crowded genre Midnight Sin occupy. On the other hand the album still has a proverbial delinquent rebel within, and takes the opportunity to be raucous and party whenever it can.

The result is an record that will get plenty more spins in my CD player, and I expect a couple of the sleazier numbers to become dance floor favorites as time goes on.

Band Members:
Albert Fish – vocals
LeStar – lead guitar
Maurice Flee – rhythm guitar
Acey Guns – bass
Dany Rake – drums

Track Listing:
1. Snake Eyes
2. Midnight Revolution
3. Feed Me With Lies
4. No Matter
5. ‘Till It’s All Gone Away
6. You Piss Me Off
7. Rise & Yell
8. Code: 69
9. 2 Words
10. Sweet Pain

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