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Midnight Force: Gododdin
Midnight Force - Gododdin Music Review

Midnight Force: Gododdin

Tradtional Heavy Metal
4.0/5.0

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Iron Shield Records
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 16.10.2019 | Released: 25.10.2019

A mere fourteen months from their debut album, Dunsinane, Glasgow's Midnight Force returns with their sophomore long player, Gododdin, again with Iron Shield Records. Expect more traditional heavy metal mixed with their tales of fantasy and history, particularly that of Scotland.

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Midnight Force

Musically speaking, nothing much has changed for Midnight Force in little over a year. Actually, and to be quite lazy about it, I could merely repeat what I said about Midnight Force in my review of Dunsinane. Essentially, Midnight Force revisits NWoBHM traditional heavy metal, yet also mixes in some Seventies proto-metal and, sometimes with a plodding pace, as within Walls of Acre, some good old fashioned doom metal. But mostly, the songs have both gallop and groove, and momentary lapses into more modest pacing. Additionally, Ansgar Burke lays down some crisp riffs and plenty of swollen guitar solos throughout. Vocalist John Gunn still sings clean with a slight modicum of Halford-like shrieking. However, at times he seemed a bit muted in the mix. The rest of the band backs him up with gang background vocals. Finally, and also characteristic of any Midnight Force tune is the prominence and strength of the bass line provided by Brenden Crow. As I said, I'm not saying anything new, and perhaps we could have skipped to that old review.

Mentioning a few more songs, you'll find some brisk, galloping heavy metal with Eternal Emperor, Pathia, and The Doom Of Kiev. Burke's sharp guitar riffs lead, and with steady drums, propel the more moderate Covenant. But the signature song here is Y Gododdin, essentially an ancient lament. From Wikipedia, Y Gododdin is "a medieval Welsh poem consisting of a series of elegies to the men of the Brittonic kingdom of Gododdin and its allies who, according to the conventional interpretation, died fighting the Angles of Deira and Bernicia at a place named Catraeth in about AD 600." Midnight Force develops the lament with an acoustic guitar and vocal prelude before beefing things up with galloping heavy metal and a string of guitar solos.

All in all, Gododdin is characteristically Midnight Force, offering their interpretation of classic and traditional heavy metal. Is it as good as or better than Dunsinane, or merely more of the same. Fans can decide for themselves.


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The Bottom Line

All in all, Gododdin is characteristically Midnight Force, offering their interpretation of classic and traditional heavy metal. Is it as good or better than Dunsinane or merely more of the same. Fans can decide for themselves.

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