Midas - 'Midas'

(No Remorse Records)

It surprised me to discover that Midas are American and not in fact English. Their sound is straight out of the NWOBHM movement of the late Seventies and early Eighties. So, it’s crystal clear these guys grew up with a healthy diet of British metal blasting in their lugholes!

Imagine Saxon, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Tygers of Pan Tang made a baby then you will come close to understanding the sound and style of Midas. It’s full on NWOBHM as if the last thirty years never happened even right down to the production. If you didn’t know better, you’d think this was an unreleased gem from back in the day. It’s extremely retro and I know this may put some off, but I know most hardcore NWOBHM fans love these bands who fully immerse themselves in the genre’s heyday sound, style and production.

Midas give us Anthemic Metal choruses designed to stir the blood and get you yelling along with a fist held high. There are elements of various NWOBHM in their music Maiden-esque guitar licks, Saxon style vocal melodies and Priest influenced metallic anthem choruses.

I’m particularly fond of Joe Kupiec’s warm and rich vocals which adds a strong melodic sensibility to many of the songs on the album whilst never losing the booming metal power these songs exude. He probably has more in common with Saxon’s Biff Byford not just in his voice but in his delivery more so than the other soaring high-pitched vocals you get with other well-known NWOBHM acts.

Going through the album the songs scream Saxon and Priest but it always makes me smile when guitarist Casey O’Ryan throws in an obvious Maiden style guitar flourish or Riff. I found it very easy to like these guys, they might not be original, but mixing so many elements of these bands can’t help but bring a massive nostalgic smile to my face. Its fun picking out and recognising these different influences meshed up into individual songs.

If you think all Metal music released after 1985 is rubbish, then Midas will definitely grab your denim clad body by the ears and have your air guitar steaming! It’s very retro but if you dig this style of music, you’re going to love this album. A solid slab of old school metal which gets two thumbs up from me!

8/10

Essential Track - 'Slaves To The Night'

Review by Woody