Mitternacht — Mitternacht Review
Mitternacht is an American one-person Black Metal entity. On 22nd December 2025, Mitternacht released his independent raw and wrathful Self-titled release, rooted in primitive, aggressive, second‑wave black metal.
Mitternacht, Review: This review will evaluate every aspect of the album, from its intricate musical composition to its production. Our analysis will provide valuable insights to help you determine if this album is worth adding to your collection.
The First Three Sins, The Summary
The Fourth Sin, Overall Discussion
The First Strike
A surge of rapid, irreverent fury erupts the moment the listener presses play. Mitternacht unleashes five anthems of sheer chaos and fire, under twenty minutes. These hymns draw inspiration from the primal and frigid ambiance of early Darkthrone, infused with the aggressive style reminiscent of Germany’s Katharsis.
The Turning Point: Umwertung
Umwertung, the fourth hymn on the EP, marks a turning point; it is in this hymn that the cycle of violence begins to mirror rather than repeat. Let us pause for a second and focus on this powerful moment. This is the sole hymn that transitions into a slow, dark, and atmospheric soundscape.
Following the stifling monotony of Crescent Horns, Umwertung feels like a ceremonial breath — not a release, but a moment of inner realignment before the ultimate plunge into Torture.
Forged in Isolation (DIY Creation)
Mitternacht’s creation is entirely DIY, capturing the unrefined essence of Darkthrone’s 1994 full-length release Transilvanian Hunger.
Mitternacht’s guitars wail like fierce snowstorms, and the drums are submerged within the mix. The instrumentals were assembled over two sessions: one dedicated to drums and another for guitars (with a humorous power outage occurring during the second session), while the vocals were recorded in a professional studio.
Sigillvm states:
“Blasphemous Warfare” uses two triplet ostinatos throughout the track if you listen closely to the main riff variations and the chorus, respectively. “Crescent Horns” has a Rune/Blasphemer style arpeggio between each part of the main riff and is just blast beats throughout the entire song without any breaking.
That track encapsulates how I felt at the time, pure frustration and monotony — just beating the life out of the instruments.
Athenaeum Of Sin ‘Mitternacht’ Interview
Instruments of Devotion
Mitternacht stands as a singular force of artistry and devilmanship, delivering a composition, both instrumental and musical, executed to perfection.
Sigillvm’s guitars drive the sound forward with a blend of speed and grit. The riffs are crafted from tremolo‑driven riffing, triplet ostinatos, and Rune/Blasphemer-style arpeggios, featuring occasional melodic nuances that are hidden beneath the onslaught.
The guitar tone is intentionally rough — not lo‑fi accidentally, but by DIY philosophy.
Sigillvm’s drums are characterised by relentless blast beats, frequently without any pauses. Consider the third hymn, Crescent Horns, which features these blast beats throughout, embodying sheer frustration and monotony. The drumming focuses less on subtlety and more on a percussive onslaught — a tangible expression of the emotional turmoil present in the EP.
Sigillvm’s vocals deliver furious black metal screams, unrefined, raw, and harsh. They sit prominently in the mix, piercing through the thick wall of guitars and drums.
This is not about atmospheric shrieking — it’s a furious, forward-thrusting scream.
Blackened Machinery
Mitternacht’s assault is unmistakably black metal at its core — a chassis built from second‑wave orthodoxy, all serrated tremolo lines and frostbitten chord shapes. But inside that frame, heavier machinery grinds. The riffs carry a death metal weight, a percussive, iron‑shod stomp that thickens the low end and drags the music into a more corporeal register.
Chromatic smears and blunt rhythmic pivots add torque where most raw United States Black Metal would dissolve into obscurity. And threaded through the gears is a war/bestial black metal spark, not enough to claim the genre, but enough to contaminate it: short, violent riff loops, martial surges, and a bestial edge in the vocal phrasing.
The result is a weaponised hybrid — black metal as the flame, death metal as the iron, war metal as the accelerant — all fused into a single, grinding engine of raw and wrathful extreme metal.
Final Assessment
Overall, Mitternacht is a dark fruit of extreme art, characterised by its primitive and wrathful black metal sound. This is a must-listen for fans who appreciate the harsh and aggressive second wave style that Darkthrone has perfected.
Fade to Black
Mitternacht fades into the darkness, leaving only scorched echoes and the promise of deeper night to come.
The Fifth Sin, The Memorabilia
For me, Mitternacht unfolds not like American black metal, but as something unique, fresh, and bold. It sheds the expected regional markers, presenting instead a dark, unholy war-like machine driven by instinct rather than scene allegiance. This self-titled release feels compulsive — the kind of record that demands the repeat button, not for comfort, but for immersion.
Beneath the surface, there’s a sense that this is only the opening strike, that more of this extreme midnight metal waits to be unleashed.
The Sixth Sin, The Artwork
The artwork has this war metal look, with more focus on the music than the artwork.
The Seventh Sin, Disrelish
There is nothing to dislike within the musical offerings of Mitternacht. Mitternacht delivers a release forged in raw, wrathful darkness and frost-bitten aggression. Mitternacht does not ask for attention; it asks to be repeated and be loud.
Promotional material provided by Mitternacht.
The Hymns
01. Blasphemous Warfare
02. Plagued by Wrath
03. Crescent Horns
04. Umwertung (instrumental)
05. Torture
Mitternacht
Sigillvm — All Instruments, Vocals