I love me some blackened thrash, but for whatever
reason not much of it crosses my path on a regular basis. There seems to be an endless flow of
blackened folk and death, yet my penchant for Immortal and Absu is more often
than not left unsatisfied. Thankfully
this drought was lifted with the arrival of The Endless
Winter. Equal parts the 80’s
thrash of Exodus and melodic grimness of Taake, Frosthelm are a force to be
reckoned with.
One look at this amazing, frost-bitten cover and
the band name, and you wouldn’t think this was the work of a couple dudes from
North Dakota. Yet there it is. Nevertheless, these guys can shred with the
best of their Nordic brethren. I can
almost see Abbath silently nodding approval with crossed arms: Insanely fast tremolos, wild palm-mute
alternation, shrieking treble-heavy chords, and a number of excellent solos to
boot. I am pretty sure that there is
some direct Bathory influence on this album as well. The thrashier parts share some qualities with
Blood Fire Death while the bigger riffs bring Hammerheart to mind (see opening to “A Storm of Teeth”).
Between the endless blastbeats, minor key
variations, and shrieked vocals; there is little doubt that Frosthelm are black
metal to the bone. And yet I find myself
frequently banging my head and grinning while picturing “Zetro” Souza in corpse
paint. There’s something about the thick
chug patterns and cadence of the screams that manages to infuse the bay area
scene into the otherwise icy riffage.
It’s a combination I never would have dreamed possible, but I think that
is exactly what drew me to this album to begin with. A closer look at the liner notes reveals
further clues behind the sound. It was
recorded in L.A. and mixed and mastered by Matt Hyde (Slayer, Kreator). Frosthelm even go so far as to call
themselves “thrashened black.”
Whatever you choose to call it, you need to check
it out on
bandcamp pronto.
Their ability
to be highly technical in the shredding and drumming while maintaining a keen
ear for catchy hooks and pure mosh pit mayhem are a wonder to behold.
I can’t decide whether to wear corpse paint
with board shorts or a sleeveless shirt and flowing curls with combat boots and
spikes.
It’s a conundrum.
But let me worry about the fashion while you
stream this monster today.
It’s “The
Toxic Waltz” in a snowstorm.
Enjoyability=10
Musicianship=9
Innovation=9
Overall=9.3
