Midnight Guest tunes heavy rock with a modern look in new EP
Project by musician Daniel Stunges receives vocals from Canadian singer Kjetil Landsgard
As a bridge between the present and the past, Midnight Guest tunes 1970s heavy rock and occult rock with a modern look on their debut EP. The project created in 2020 by guitarist Daniel Stunges joins the vocals of Kjetil Landsgard, straight from Canada, and musicians Tadeu Correa on drums and Eduardo Oliveira on bass. The album hits streaming platforms accompanied by the video for the track “Hellfire (Do What Thou Wilt)”.
Listen to “Midnight Guest”: https://ps.onerpm.com/5397180305
The genesis of Midnight Guest comes from the desire to create within the occult rock genre, popularized by names like Black Sabbath and Ghost, but which also had a punk attitude mixed with metal, as is the case with Motörhead and Misfits. This more analogue sound guided the entire production.
“We recorded with instruments that were at least 20 years old and with tube amplifiers. I sent the mixes to be transferred to ¼” magnetic tape at the Welcome to 1979 studio in Nashville, and to master I chose Arthur Joly who is a master of analog sound. It’s because of this aesthetic that in addition to streaming, we’ll also make one limited edition of the EP in color cassette”, says Daniel.
The lyrics are mainly based on religion and occultism. The single “Hellfire (Do What Thou Wilt)” is inspired by the history of the 18th century Hellfire Clubs and Stanley Kubrick’s “With Eyes Wide Shut.” The title track seeks to capture the atmosphere of some of Francisco Goya’s Black Paintings, especially El Querore, in addition to references to the feature films “O Nome da Rosa” and “A Bruxa”. “Nunsploitation” talks about the Christian idea of purification through suffering and the exploration of this by the hierarchy of organized religions. Finally, “The Future is Vintage” talks about the feeling of living in a dystopia in the face of disbelief in science and movements such as earthmoving and anti-vaccine.
“Initially this project would be something similar to a solo album, but I met Kjetil Landsgard and things started to take on more band form. Both of us are already working on new songs to be released in the second half of 2021”, anticipates Stunges.
The entire creative process was developed from a distance and the recording took place in each musician’s home studios, with the exception of the drums. The compositions were all signed by Daniel Stunges.
Midnight Guest’s debut album hits major streaming platforms, and the cassette tape will have a limited physical version to be released soon.
