Review by Greg on February 28, 2026.

That's quite an interesting album that ended up on my figurative desk – not that its enigmatic artwork gives you any hints about the sound, to be honest. Indeed, Hibernation's End is the brand-new album from German melodic death/thrash outfit Frostshock. Naturally, by means of immediate genre association, my mind went straight to one of my modern favourites, Canada's own Invicta, who are my personal gold standard for this particular style. As such, I was pleasantly surprised to hear these guys conjuring many of the same key features: the 'melodic' component is crucial to the sound, but is also far from neutering or diminishing the music's overall impact. Also, frontman Flemming Wehren's dominant growl is not too dissimilar from Kyle Edissi's, although he complements it with equally strong raspier shrieks, for a change. At times, the leads are even more prominent, almost recalling the constant noodling approach of bands like Bloodletter, but these four German dudes manage to give their compositions way more room to breathe, as evident from the generous track lengths.

I'm getting it immediately out of the way – since it's the first thing you're gonna hear anyway – but I'm not too fond of the production. Every time I put the album on, already the intro of 'Web Of Lies' inevitably rubs me the wrong way, even if I get used to it as minutes go by. If you've ever had one of those vicious colds where your ears are padded with phlegm and feel like you're constantly underwater, it's not far off. (Incidentally, I'm in that very situation right now, so the effect is doubled.) Especially Fabian Schieffers' flashy drumming doesn't quite get the justice it deserves, as his drumkit is excessively quiet in the mix. It doesn't distract from the egregious guitar playing, which may well have been the intent, but a bit more punch would have worked wonders.

As for the music, though, there's little room for complaints. 'Web Of Lies' itself is a perfect introduction to Hibernation's End, with those guitar parts constantly straddling the line between riffs and solos, obviously with a strong penchant for melody. For better or worse, it's not that kind of track that anticipates what the whole album is about, as most of the following tracks would outperform it in one way or another, and it lacks a handful of bpm to feel truly lethal. The outro is a bit overlong and also too reminiscent of the intro/main sequence, although the transition to the 8-bit version was neat, as it was unexpected. Way stronger, regardless, is the following 'Emerged', a decidedly more death-oriented beast that makes those Invicta comparisons emerge (I'm sorry) clearly. The opening riff is the kind of melodic death stuff so exquisitely written that even detractors of the genre would be forced to appreciate, and it also includes a sprinkle of half-clean backing vocals in the intense chorus, amidst the Shareef Hassanien-like blasting mayhem provided by Schieffers. 'Omniscience' follows the same path while simultaneously upping the ante in memorability, and is, unsurprisingly, my favourite cut. I'll admit it feels unjust to praise a promising young band the most when they resemble somebody else, but those double bass cavalcades and epic lead harmonies in the background are just too deeply empowering to have any hesitations. The result is another striking refrain I could listen to forever. This is pretty much closer to my 'ideal' sound than anything else I've heard in recent years, and Frostshock can be damn proud of having written scorchers like these, for sure. Listen to that beautiful guitar lick at 2:30, among others, rounding off another killer solo. Easily my favourite song of 2025.

But don't worry, Frostshock might be just as impressive when sounding like, well, Frostshock. Other favourite moments are the atmospheric black-tinged intro of the title-track, which sounds like it could fit on Skeletonwitch's controversial swansong "Devouring Radiant Light", and the wonderful instrumental diversions in 'The Swarm' and stunning closer 'Whatever Lies Beyond The Black Sky'. Overall, Hibernation's End is truly a quality work, with carefully studied arrangements, and pretty much never lets up the intensity throughout. For a brand of deathrash so heavily anthemic in its intentions, some songs wind up leaving a lesser impression. On the upside, there are plenty of compelling moments appearing in each and every one of them. That might also explain why, despite being initially cautious about some of those track lengths, the shortest tracks are actually the ones I'm having a bit more trouble remembering. Even then, 'Ascenders Bane' contains a killer chorus riff, and 'Shaping The Weak' is adorned with a slower guitar line that's irresistibly catchy. There are truly no losers here.

I see that Hibernation's End is already the band's second effort, so if the debut is anything like this, I clearly have some catching up to do. Great stuff all around. You have a new fan among your ranks.

Rating: 8.8 out of 10