MESSENGER of DEATH Reviews

A no-frills approach that emphasizes razor sharp riffs, speedy gallops and conventional, yet skillfully written song structures goes a long way toward making the disc memorable and menacingly fun. It is primarilly Mike's raspy vocals and the lyrical content that put the"blackened" in the duo's thrash attack. Songs lie "Burned Alive" and the title track exemplify an album full of molten, old-school thrash riffing and screaming guitar solos, as well as some hooky songwriting. "Die With Me" departs just a hair from the norm by incorporating flashes of traditional metal, particularly the lengthy, melodicguitar solo. Messenger of Death burns hot and leaves a favorable impression.
- Scott Alisoglu

BRAVE WORDS & BLOODY KNUCKLES

This review will be slightly different. In it you will not find any of the usual metaphors, similes or prepositional phrases used to describe the bands on display, nor will you be subjected to the customary comparisons or trappings that us scribes are so wont to employ. Chicago's Deadnight deserve as much. So, in celebration of the band's latest release, Messenger of Death, I ask you to dig deep into your forgotten closet of '80s metal cliches. Reclaim that acid/stoned wash denim jacket clad with Slayer, Venom, Kreator and Possessed buttons. Reclaim that old math textbook emblazoned with the ghastly logos of Sacrifice, Death, Obituary and early-Morbid Angel. Adorn those appendage-constricting jeans, accessorized with your trusty bullet belt. Anyway, you get the picture, these guys are old school. What is most surprising about Deadnight is that their vicious blackened thrash assault is executed by two dudes, not five, as the music would have you believe. I know, I said I wouldn't do it, but the reviewer in me can't resist throwing out at least a few cliches and comparisons , so here goes: riffs and leads soar like that of the mythical phoenix, barbarous rhythms resound from the bowels of hell, and inhumane vocals of the Dissection kind mutilate and eviscerate. That being said, if yu have a predilection toward mid to late '80s thrash, Deadnight is most certainly your cup o' tea.
8/10 - Jason Deaville

SOD MAGAZINE

True metallic fury has been unleashed as Deadnight blasts forth with Messenger of Death, one of the most hammering, true METAL albums of the year. Deadnight creates a twisted, brain-blasting, wall of metal chaos that will leave riff-crazy metalheads in a state of nirvana. Tracks like Burned Alive,Keeper of Souls, Unholy Revenge and Die with Me are tight-as-fuck, blistering assaults packed and overflowing with enough Destruction/Kreator-like riffwork to transport you back in time to the mid 80s faster than you can buckle your fucking bullet belt. Throw in a cover painting by "Ken McCracken" that would have been right at home on any King Diamond vinyl and you have one of the most essential metallic purchases of the year.
9/10 - David Horn

THE METAL OBSERVER

What DEADNIGHT does in terms of melodic guitar is more closely related to what DISSECTION was doing about a decade ago; the guitar leads, while melodic, are distressing and melancholic as opposed to upbeat and harmonious. When they chose to, DEADNIGHT can construct an atmosphere easily comparable to a band like BATHORY. On the opposite end of things, DEADNIGHT can also thrash with the best of them. This element of diversity is truly the greatest aspect of "Messenger Of Death". It would be easiest to think of DEADNIGHT as early KREATOR with a more focussed level of cohesion as well as an added dose of melody and epic-ness, but the music they play is really it’s own entity, and one that deserves to be separate from generic genre labels. I can’t recommend this album enough. It is fucking class from start to finish.
9.5/10 - The Metal Observer

METAL CENTRE POLAND

Kolejni przedstawiciele nowej fali starego thrashu metalu atakuj¹! Niestety pierwsza szar¿a okaza³a siê byæ trochê s³aba, aczkolwiek miejscami mia³a przeb³yski. O kim mowa? O jak¿e swojsko brzmi¹cym zespole DEADNIGHT. Nikogo oczywiœcie nie zdziwi fakt, i¿ Panowie s¹ z ''malutkiego'' USA, i tam te¿ m³óc¹ swój thrash. Czemu nie krêci mnie DEADNIGHT? Czemu nie ho³dujê kolejnym przedstawicielom nowej fali? Mo¿e dlatego, ¿e najlepszych ju¿ znam, a Ci którzy wci¹¿ graj¹ oldschoolowo ale bardzo brutalnie (jak DEADNIGHT czy TOXIC HOLOCAUST b¹dŸ MERCILESS DEATH) do mnie raczej nie trafiaj¹. Nie ¿ebym nie lubi³ mocnego thrashowego ³ojenia, bo w tym DEADNIGHT sprawdza siê wprost wyœmienicie, a inspiracje KREATOR, SODOM, DESTRUCTION i SABBAT s¹ a¿ nazbyt s³yszalne, tak jednak ja nie przepadam za iloœci¹ takiej rzeŸni w thrashu. Choæ przyznam, ¿e ten thrash spod znaku DEADNIGHT jest melodyjny, super szybki, miejscami nawet lekko techniczny, i ma super produkcjê, tak choæby zbytnio death/black metalowe wokale (dziwny growl) mnie zniesmaczaj¹. DEADNIGHT nie jest zespo³em z³ym, o nie. Muzycy Amerykañskiej formacji i tak prezentuj¹ poziom którego inni nie s¹ w stanie osi¹gn¹æ (choæby w sferze perkusji czy gitary solowej). Brutalne i szybkie tempa utworów wywo³uj¹ nieustanny headbanging a fenomenalne solówki zapadaj¹ w pamiêæ od pierwszego przes³uchania. Zaœ silna i bardzo nowoczesna produkcja wprost mia¿d¿y koœci. Miejscami ten materia³ kojarzy mi siê z thrash metalow¹ wersj¹ CHILDREN OF BODOM, wzbogacon¹ o... lepsze melodie (ni¿ te które teraz proponuj¹ nam dzieciaki). W zasadzie gdyby porównaæ materia³ DEADNIGHT z ostatnia propozycj¹ CHILDRENÓW to niestety ale Finowie musieli by mocno zrewidowaæ swoje poczynania i oddaæ pok³on Amerykanom. Zdecydowanie. Jakby nie patrzeæ niby jest to granie inne ale ³adunek energii podobny z tym, ¿e na dzieñ dzisiejszy nie umia³bym wybraæ kogo tak na prawdê wolê czy thrasherów czy melodyjnych death metalowców... Nie bez powodu wspominam o CoB poniewa¿ ok³adka albumu DEADNIGHT spokojnie mog³aby byæ kolejnym nowym artem zdobi¹cym kr¹¿ek dzieciaków. I z pewnoœci¹ swoje zadanie spe³ni³aby w 100%, a ¿e niestety siê tak nie sta³o to Amerykanie s¹ w jej posiadani, i dumnie prezentuj¹ ja na swoim kr¹¿ku. Mo¿e gdy tam tej p³ycie wiêcej czasu dam siê jej ''ponieœæ''. Póki co tylko przytupujê nó¿k¹, i od czasu do czasu machnê baniakiem, mam nadziejê, ¿e za którymœ tam w kolei przes³uchaniem bêdê siê rwa³ do biegu w circle pit. I wy te¿.
Stany Zjednoczone

THE ILLINOIS ENTERTAINER

It's becoming very easy to be jaded with this "thrash revival" scene. What initially seemed like a good idea, digging up the music that put American metal on the map in the '80s, has already worn out its welcome in the minds of many metalheads. That's not to say they're aren't some worthy acts out there, though. On Messenger Of Death (Rotting Corpse), Deadnight combines Testament's technical proficiency and Dissection's attitude ("With hate and despise I spit on the cross," frontman/guitarist Mike hisses on "Divine Lair") to create blackened thrash never short on razor-blade riffs.
Trevor F.

METAL NEDERLANDS

ENGLISH:
Most of the time metal albums produced by duos are not my cup of tea. I don't know that much decent metal duos and those who did surprise me often had to deal with an overproduced sound.
So when I noticed that Deadnight has got only two members (John plays the bass guitar and Mike does the vocals, all the guitars, percussion and keyboards) I got a bit sceptical. But…. this time I am rather positively surprised by the result. These thirty five minutes of thrash metal sung with a black metal voice made a good impression on me. During the title track you can hear two artists playing with passion and also that the chorus has a very high "shout along" factor. Thrash in its purest form is played during 'Divine Liar' (good breaks and decent solos), and also the fast ending of 'Unholy Revenge' tickles my interest. But unfortunately not every track has the same impact. In a song like 'Burned Alive' the band still seems to be searching for some ideas of their own (hello Slayer) and also during 'Dance Of Knives' these guys are repeating themselves a bit too much.
If you like your thrash metal firm, decent and a bit filthy it wouldn't harm you to check out Deadnight, although I have to warn you about the production. Sometimes the sound is a bit too clean, especially the drums have got every now and then a 'canned' tuning. But despite this I am still positive about Mike and John. A duo with a bright future ahead.

DUTCH:
Tormentor Erich: Als ik zie dat een metal cd in elkaar is gebokst door een duo wordt ik meestal een tikkeltje sceptisch. Ik ken helaas niet zo veel geweldige metal duo's en degene die mij wel positief verrasten tot nu toe hadden toch vaak te kampen met een te steriel opgenomen product waardoor het geheel weer een wat minder ruige indruk achterliet. Toen ik dus zag dat Deadnight bestaat uit John (bas gitaar) en Mike (vocals, alle gitaren, percussie en keyboards) zag ik de bui alweer hangen. Maar deze keer ben ik eigenlijk best aangenaam verrast door het resultaat. De vijfendertig minuten thrash metal met black metal-achtige vocals maakt een goede indruk. Nu zijn helaas niet alle acht de tracks even sterk, maar tijdens het titelnummer hoor je toch twee artiesten die flink op dreef zijn en dat refrein nodigt ook al uit tot meebrullen. Thrash in de puurste zin van het woord komt voorbij tijdens 'Divine Liar' (goede breaks en toffe solo's), en ook die versnelling op het eind van 'Unholy Revenge' mag er wezen. Helaas lijkt de band op tracks zoals 'Burned Alive' nog wat zoekende te zijn naar een eigen idee (hallo Slayer) en ook gedurende een 'Dance Of Knives' valt men eigenlijk net iets te vaak in herhaling. Liefhebbers van goed bedoelde, degelijke en smerige thrash metal kunnen deze band gerust eens gaan beluisteren. Let echter wel even op de productie, deze valt helaas soms wat te blikkerig uit en dit is best jammer, maar desondanks kan ik toch wel stellen dat het duo Deadnight een duo is met toekomst perspectief.

ANTICHRIST ZINE (Ukraine)

Aaargh! Seems Rotting Corpse rex is on the "right way" of Metal exactly! Below you'll find another RC rex review (EZURATE), and there you'll find good words too J . Well, as I understand, DEADNIGHT is a young band, also looking to the musicians photo I saw more-less young men (about 20 years old I suppose), BUT! Fuck, I can't describe you how ut's great to watch when such young men invelved into TRUE METAL UG, and not in the trendy shit! Ok, let's try to see what we are have here. Here are 8 killing songs on about 40 minutes of sounds. DEADNIGHT plays really killing and totally old-schooled thrash metal, mixed with black metal and also with death metal touches, so you see – thrash metal of '80! Each song, every riff are just total pure metal to the bones! Here we have furious, by places twisted (but most of all straight forward) guitar riffs and great vokillz. Music is made in the vein of old records of such monsters as early BATHORY, KREATOR, even with touches of (old) SEPULTURA or SLAYER , also song "Messenger Of Death" has reminded me mighty INFERNAL VENGEANCE of Sweden... All those cutting riffs are mixed with no less killing yet freezing and just SICK solos here and there! This CD is about 8 times playing in my stereo, and I want to listen to it again and again! I wont to speak many about this record, 'coz there's possible to write and write J , I just would like to add that ALL maniax who are into PURE Old-school Thrash Metal – "Messenger Of Death" CD is a fucking MUSTHAVE for all of you! Check it out now, DEADNIGHT DESERVES TRULY SUPPORT NOW! Worhty work was made, and if musicians will continue to step by such way – they'll get HUGE feedback of worldwide Thrash maniacz for sure!
5/5
http://www.deadshop.nm.ru/

CHAOS VAULT (Poland)

Czesto ostatnio bywa tak, ze dostaje plyte do recenzji i nie wiem o niej nic (no chyba, ze sam sobie ja kupie to, co innego). Tak bylo i ta raza, gdy w przesylce od amerykanskiej Rotting Corpse Records dostalem dwa cedeki, a jednym z nich byl wlasnie Deadnight. Na okladce albumu Deadnight mamy terenowego konsultanta ds. marketingu i lacznosci z klientem Zaswiaty sp. Z o. o. – kostuche czyli. Wyjeta (przepraszam za wyrazenie) zywcem z front coverów Dissection. I jakis trop to jest, bo echa twórczosci Jona sa na „Messenger of Death" slyszalne. Zwlaszcza w wokalu Mike'a, a takze w samej produkcji plyty, która brzmi jak wygladzona wersja „The Somberlain". Zreszta sam wspomniany Mike pozuje na zdjeciu wewnatrz bookletu w koszulce Szwedow. Moze ten fakt implikuje u mnie takie skojarzenia. Ale idac dalej tym trope, to John – drugi czlonek duetu z Chicago, powinien miec na sobie koszulke Slayera, no ale tegoz nie ma, bo przyodzial Bathory. A Slayerem Deadnight inspiruje sie w stopniu bardzo duzym. Posluchajcie sobie otwierajacego debiutancki krazek utworu, wszak to Aniol Smierci jako zywy – pedzaca perkusja, charakterystyczne riffy, jak i sama kompozycja. Nastepny, „Keeper Of Souls", podobnie – inspiracje „Postmortem" sa az nadto slyszalne, a przynajmniej na poczatku utworu. Koncertowym szlagierem bedzie zas na pewno trzeci na plycie, numer tytulowy. Bardzo melodyjny, rytmiczny, przywodzacy na mysl debiut takich jednych gówniarzy znad Jeziora Bodom. Wpada w ucho, to fakt, ale przez nadmierna melodyjnosc odstaje od reszty kawalków, mimo wszystko bardziej zadziornych, thrashowych. Zastanawiam sie, jak okreslic muzyke Deadnight, bo jesli nazwe to black/thrash'em to co poczac z takimi kapelami jak Nocturnal Breed czy Aura Noir? Powiem wiec tak: na „Messenger Of Death" znajdziecie mix heavy/thrash'u oraz lzejszego black metalu w stylu Dissection czy Soulreaper. Calosci slucha sie bez wiekszego bólu, z tym ze po przesluchaniu nie zostanie nam duzo w pamieci. Ale spokojnie mozna do niej kilka razy powrócic. Deadnight to kapela jakich wiele. Duet z Chicago nagral poprawny album, ot – typowy debiutancki krazek. Wstydu on nie przynosi, ale do tego bym sobie zrobil z niego oltarzyk tez mu jeszcze brakuje.

ENGLISH:

Recently it happens often that I receive a CD for review and I don't know anything about it (unless I buy it myself – that's a different story.) this time when I received a shipment from an American label Rotting Corpse Records, I received two cd's and one of those was Deadnight. The consultant of marketing and public relations Zaswiaty – On the cover of the album we have a Skeleton, such is the picture taken from the cover of dissection…This was the clue. because the echoes of Jon's are visible and you can hear it in "Messenger of Death." Especially in Mike's vocals and also in the production of the CD, that sounds like a smooth version of the "Somberlain." By the way Mike is wearing the T-shirt of the Swedes. Maybe that is the implication of my association. But following this trail, John the second member of the duo from Chicago should have worn a slayer T-shirt, but he is wearing a Bathory shirt. But the group is definitely inspired by Slayer. Just listen to the opening piece –Angel of Death – Vivid, speeding percussion, and the composition itself. Next, "Keeper of Souls" and the same is the inspiration in "postmortem," are too, obvious in the beginning of the tune. But the hit of the CD and the concert best hit will be the third song on the CD, the title track. Very melodic, rhythmic and bringing to mind another debut of the youngsters from lake bodom. It falls in the ear, this is a fact, but it stands out from the rest of the cd, which is more thrashy and outrageous. I'm trying how to decribe Deadnight because if I call it black/thrash than what do I call bands such as Nocturnal Breed or Aura Noir? So I will say this: in Deadnight you will find a mixture of heavy thrash and lighter black metal in the style of Dissection and Soulreaper. The entire CD you will listen to without pain, but after you will not remember much. But at the end you can easily go back and listen again and again…

OBLIVION ZINE (GERMANY)
www. obliveon. de / June 2008

Deutsch:
Die kleinen Perlen sind es, die einem Musikredakteur den Spaß an den Besprechungen erhalten. Kleine Perlen wie eben Deadnight, die zwar schon einmal ein Demo namens „In The Dead Of Night" als auch eine EP („Live In Chicago") veröffentlicht hatten, für mich aber quasi aus dem Nichts kommen. Acht Songs hat man als Duo im Studio eingerödelt und nun über das heimatliche Rotting Corpse Label releast, womit Ron und Lori, die beiden Köpfe hinter dem Label, mal wieder ihr Gespür für richtig gute Musik gezeigt haben. Denn die beiden Musiker Mike und John sind trotz ihres eher noch jugendlichen Alters echte Old School-Thrasher und durch Bands wie Slayer, aber auch die guten alten Teutonen-Thrasher Kreator und Destruction beeinflusst. Das Ganze wird mit etwas Black Metal und einem Hauch Death durchmischt und ihr bekommt einen knalligen und ziemlich hämmernden Sound mit fetten Riffs, der den Spirit der Mid-Achtziger – allerdings im moderneren Soundgewand – wieder belebt. Wenn ich von Black Metal-Einflüssen rede, so ist hier übrigens kein räudiges, arschkaltes Geprügel gemeint, sondern die dezente Marke wie man sie auch auf Dissections „Somberlain" findet. Herausragender Track auf Deadnights Debüt ist „Messenger Of Death", der über eine geradezu perfekte Melodielinie verfügt und sich quasi sofort in die Hirnwindungen fräst. Auf der Negativseite gibt es höchstens einige zu lang geratene Passagen wie etwa in „Dance Of Knives" zu vermerken. Falls ihr die Scheibe nicht beim Importeur eures Vertrauens findet versucht es hier: http://www.rottingcorpserecords.com . Probehören könnt ihr unter http://www.myspace.com/deadnightofficial

8/10 - Stephan Becker

It is the small pearls that keep the fun alive with reviewing bands and music. Small pearls like Deadnight who have released a demo ("In The Dead Of Night") and an EP ("Live In Chicago") before, but for me they are coming into the scene as a surprise. The duo has recorded eight songs in the studio and now released via hometown-label Rotting Corpse. With this Ron and Lori, the heads behind that label, have shown their great taste of music again. The two musicians Mike and John are – even if they are still in their early days – true old school-thrasher and influenced by bands like Slayer and also that good old teutonic thrash like Kreator and Destruction. The result is mixed up with some Black Metal and very few Death Metal-ingredients and what you get is a killing and hammering sound with fat riffs, which is reanimating the spirit of the mid-eighties, but in a modern style. When I am talking about Black Metal-influences, I do not mean that cold stupid hyperblasting stuff, but the decent / smooth way you can also find on Dissections "Somberlain". Outstanding song on Deadnights debut is the title-track "Messenger Of Death" which offers a nearly perfect melody-line which rips directly into your brain. On the "negative" hand you may be just have to list a few passages which are a bit too long like in "Dance Of Knives". If you won..t find the album at your personal importeurs storage just try here: www. rottingcorpserecords. com.

GLORY OF PAGAN FIRE ZINE

DEADNIGHT-MESSENGER OF DEATH these black knights of the United States come boiling in our veins metallic celebrating its eighth blood of the purest and creative black and insane thrash everything here and played with the greatest perfection sound besides that are ambitious musicians looking for their originality and perfection with creativity and competence they offer a monumental old school thrash high quality music and an album Unsurpassed a duty for all the metalheads

RIDERS OF THE BLACK WIND EP

SKULL FRACTURING METAL ZINE Well it's been quite a while since I've last done a review but now I've got plenty of time on my hands, so I decided to review this beast of an EP. Deadnight is an awesome Black/Thrash band from Chicago, Illinois who brilliantly combine that dark aura that Black Metal is famous for with the intensity that we've all come to love of Thrash. This is honestly some of the best music that I've heard all year and I hope that you all check it out. Anyway... Let's get on with the review shall we?

Bathed in Lead - This is the first track off of the EP and it starts with a heavy intro that then turns into a ripping fast thrash song. This song definitely has some Slayer influence as well as some awesome melodies that all go along with the rest of the music perfectly. A great way to kick off the EP. 4.5/5.

War Dogs - This is probably the most thrash song on the EP. There's nothing really too fancy here, just some catchy, pummeling metal that will keep your headbanging. 4.5/5.

Riders of the Black Wind - One of the more Black Metal-ish tracks here, as it opens with a cool Black Metal riff and then it switches back and forth between Thrash and Black Metal riffs throughout the song while also throwing in some nice melodic parts. 5/5.

Heaven Shall Burn - This is my favorite track off of the EP and the only thing that I can say to describe it perfectly would be epic. This is one of my favorite tracks from 2011 so far. It's got great riffs, vocals and the ending is simply amazing. 5/5.

So as you can tell by the review I am a huge fan of Deadnight and they receive my highest recommendation for those of you who are looking for some great new metal to listen to. Check them out on Facebook and like their page, buy their merch so they can tour near you, and spread the word!
- Skull Fracturing Metal Zine

DEADNIGHT-RIDERS OF THE BLACK WIND this new material the band's sound quality is supreme, and infernal still four diabolical attack ready for the destruction of humanity through a magnificent and fantastic old school thrash music continues its elaborate and creative, and technically a true soundtrack to resurrect the dead and bury the living with sharp riffs and high dose of aggression and hatred vocal sound that advertise a war that will devastate the land a bass that fits perfectly to all its sinister atmosphere drums a music that shows all its power of destruction and brutality technique done an awesome cd with every feeling totally black brothers advisable for the unholy war

Deadnight was formed in 2003 but for some unfortunate reasons they have only managed to release 1 full-length album in 2008. This EP follows after 3 years and I guess their main problem is the unstable line-up since "Riders of the Black Wind" was recorded as a duo and at the moment I'm writing this review they are again a quartet. Anyway, the 4 tracks presented on this EP are great, old-school fast and dirty Thrash Metal a la '80's Kreator, Slayer or Destruction, spiced with a bit of sinister Death Metal touches here and there, but the general idea is of course Thrash Metal to the bone. The material was mastered by Andy LaRocque so you know you'll deal with top notch sound inhere, the simple but professional CD production and look deserve a thumbs up as well, and the compositions are extremely tight and mature, leaving no space for boredom. I especially like the hoarse vocals, the killer solos and the clever addition of keyboard backgrounds that add a note of darkness to the overall product. Too bad the CD ends in less than 20 minutes, but on the other hand it's like a teaser for the upcoming album due to be out this year. Check this band out, you won't regret it!

Adrian (Pest Webzine - http://pestwebzine.ucoz.com/index/january_2012/0-471)

Rating: 9/10