Review by Michael on January 13, 2021.

Whoa, this year is off to a very cool start!!! Frozen Soul are a relatively new band (founded in 2018) but they have grabbed me with their new (and very first) album which ended up directly in my current playlist and in one of the front places. Respect!!!

But let's start from the beginning. After a short intro, the first track starts with ultra brutal old school death metal and vocals that make your marrow freeze in your bones. The singer reminds me quite of old Bolt Thrower at "Realm of Chaos" times, quite dark and somehow also spreading an icy atmosphere. The voice is a mixture of death metal grunts and whispers. The song structures of the album also often make me think of old Bolt Thrower. 'Hand of Vengeance' could well be on "Realm of Chaos", though the slower parts also keep reminding me of the old death doom band Winter (R.I.P.). I wonder why? By the way, Frozen Soul have a female bass player on board just like Bolt Thrower did back then.

The band skillfully manages to vary the tempos in their tracks in such a way that each track offers a surprise and doesn't seem monotonous. Personally, I find the changes between ultra slow and quite fast passages very appealing. What I find remarkable about the songs, even after repeated listening, is that the band always manages to pick up speed again when you think the song is over. Especially the track 'Encased in Ice' is such a case. Here you should definitely know the video to understand the slightly disturbing sounds in the middle part. 'Wraith of Death' is another song that convinces with its varied passages. Here, too, Bolt Thrower structures often prevail, but they are excellently developed by their own ideas.

The lyrics of the album are surprisingly about frost, death and supernatural things. The band manages through the gloomy song arrangements, coupled with gripping intros (just listen to 'Hand of Vengeance') as well as the icy breathed vocals, to bring across this atmosphere, which the songs are supposed to create lyrically, on an acoustic level as well. Maybe it's because of the season and the associated temperatures, but I will certainly listen to the album to cool down in the summer, when the northern hemisphere will again groan under new heat records. I think with a cool drink Crypt of Ice will also then serve well to refresh.

Rating: 9.3 out of 10

Review by Michael on January 13, 2021.

Whoa, this year is off to a very cool start!!! Frozen Soul are a relatively new band (founded in 2018) but they have grabbed me with their new (and very first) album which ended up directly in my current playlist and in one of the front places. Respect!!!

But let's start from the beginning. After a short intro, the first track starts with ultra brutal old school death metal and vocals that make your marrow freeze in your bones. The singer reminds me quite of old Bolt Thrower at "Realm of Chaos" times, quite dark and somehow also spreading an icy atmosphere. The voice is a mixture of death metal grunts and whispers. The song structures of the album also often make me think of old Bolt Thrower. 'Hand of Vengeance' could well be on "Realm of Chaos", though the slower parts also keep reminding me of the old death doom band Winter (R.I.P.). I wonder why? By the way, Frozen Soul have a female bass player on board just like Bolt Thrower did back then.

The band skillfully manages to vary the tempos in their tracks in such a way that each track offers a surprise and doesn't seem monotonous. Personally, I find the changes between ultra slow and quite fast passages very appealing. What I find remarkable about the songs, even after repeated listening, is that the band always manages to pick up speed again when you think the song is over. Especially the track 'Encased in Ice' is such a case. Here you should definitely know the video to understand the slightly disturbing sounds in the middle part. 'Wraith of Death' is another song that convinces with its varied passages. Here, too, Bolt Thrower structures often prevail, but they are excellently developed by their own ideas.

The lyrics of the album are surprisingly about frost, death and supernatural things. The band manages through the gloomy song arrangements, coupled with gripping intros (just listen to 'Hand of Vengeance') as well as the icy breathed vocals, to bring across this atmosphere, which the songs are supposed to create lyrically, on an acoustic level as well. Maybe it's because of the season and the associated temperatures, but I will certainly listen to the album to cool down in the summer, when the northern hemisphere will again groan under new heat records. I think with a cool drink Crypt of Ice will also then serve well to refresh.

Rating: 9.3 out of 10

Review by Felix on November 4, 2019.

Roughly 2000 years ago, I got in touch with the debut of Ragnarok and I remember that “The Norse Winter Demon” was its atmospheric yet straight highlight, at least from my point of view. Then I lost the trace of the band and when I have a look at the artworks of their full-lengths, it seems as if they followed a rather ill-defined way. All covers display a different style and maybe this erratic approach is one of the reasons why the Norwegians never reached the business class of the global black metal airline.

Now I am confronted with their ninth studio work and honestly speaking, the material does not really draw me into the album. “Sanctimoneous” (typo alarm?!) marks a good example to demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of the output. A slightly melancholic riff at the beginning is beaten to death like a dog by blast beats and double bass. I don’t have any problem with hyper-fast drums per se, but here they sound mechanized and without any lively component. Atmosphere? Completely missing! A great break after the first two minutes brings an interesting riff to light, but it is immediately blown away again by the next full speed ahead attack. The chorus takes a bath in mediocrity, even though it grows at the end of the song. Finally, an old, wise man speaks some meaningless words and so this stereotype feature has also been integrated. I have some question marks in my head after listening to such a track, but one thing is for sure: that’s not the kind of stuff which makes my pulse run faster.

Ragnarok have no time to lose, they rush through their compositions as if there is no tomorrow. That’s the main mistake they do: they asphyxiate their good riffs in a matter of seconds. “Nemesis”, for example, starts promising and ends in a soulless high-speed orgy. Whenever the riff shimmers through the uncompromising hammering, one gets the indication that Ragnarok are actually able to write great tunes. Too bad that they don’t do it. Given this situation, the uniformity of the material makes it stressful to listen to the entire album continually. I just move hand over hand from one break to the next in order to enjoy the short moment where the guitars deliver not just pure noise. But Ragnarok don’t play progressive math core and so the number of breaks remains on a rather low level with the effect that the album cannot convince.

Everything else, the hateful voice, the icy leads and the thundering production, is no crucial factor for the evaluation of the album. Ragnarok’s work lacks emotions and character, as much as I regret it. Of course, black metal should be relentless and violent, but this form of one-dimensional execution just fails. Maybe the band has lost its compass – the fact that they will be on tour with a death metal combo supports this proposal. And now I go back to “The Norse Winter Demon”.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10

Review by Felix on November 4, 2019.

Roughly 2000 years ago, I got in touch with the debut of Ragnarok and I remember that “The Norse Winter Demon” was its atmospheric yet straight highlight, at least from my point of view. Then I lost the trace of the band and when I have a look at the artworks of their full-lengths, it seems as if they followed a rather ill-defined way. All covers display a different style and maybe this erratic approach is one of the reasons why the Norwegians never reached the business class of the global black metal airline.

Now I am confronted with their ninth studio work and honestly speaking, the material does not really draw me into the album. “Sanctimoneous” (typo alarm?!) marks a good example to demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of the output. A slightly melancholic riff at the beginning is beaten to death like a dog by blast beats and double bass. I don’t have any problem with hyper-fast drums per se, but here they sound mechanized and without any lively component. Atmosphere? Completely missing! A great break after the first two minutes brings an interesting riff to light, but it is immediately blown away again by the next full speed ahead attack. The chorus takes a bath in mediocrity, even though it grows at the end of the song. Finally, an old, wise man speaks some meaningless words and so this stereotype feature has also been integrated. I have some question marks in my head after listening to such a track, but one thing is for sure: that’s not the kind of stuff which makes my pulse run faster.

Ragnarok have no time to lose, they rush through their compositions as if there is no tomorrow. That’s the main mistake they do: they asphyxiate their good riffs in a matter of seconds. “Nemesis”, for example, starts promising and ends in a soulless high-speed orgy. Whenever the riff shimmers through the uncompromising hammering, one gets the indication that Ragnarok are actually able to write great tunes. Too bad that they don’t do it. Given this situation, the uniformity of the material makes it stressful to listen to the entire album continually. I just move hand over hand from one break to the next in order to enjoy the short moment where the guitars deliver not just pure noise. But Ragnarok don’t play progressive math core and so the number of breaks remains on a rather low level with the effect that the album cannot convince.

Everything else, the hateful voice, the icy leads and the thundering production, is no crucial factor for the evaluation of the album. Ragnarok’s work lacks emotions and character, as much as I regret it. Of course, black metal should be relentless and violent, but this form of one-dimensional execution just fails. Maybe the band has lost its compass – the fact that they will be on tour with a death metal combo supports this proposal. And now I go back to “The Norse Winter Demon”.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10