Frozen Soul - Glacial Domination (2023)Release ID: 44792
The debut album from Texas death metal aficionados Frozen Soul was a chunky, enjoyable yet strangely staid affair overall. The riffs and vocals were top notch it should be noted but the variance factor on the song structures was low and although the song writing was of reasonable quality they suffered from a muchness of similarity across the release. Two years on and it seems Frozen Soul are everywhere, touring the shit out of the globe and getting props left, right and centre. From the humble beginnings of Maggot Stomp Records to an established artist on Century Media, these guys have progressed their career nicely in a little over five years.
Indeed, this increased exposure has seen them be able to collaborate with the likes of Matt Heafy, Reese Alavi, Blake Ibanez, John Gallagher and retro-electro artist Gost on Glacial Domination. I find it odd then that the sophomore release varies little from the debut offering and as a result I find myself writing a very similar review for it. All the riffs and ghastly death metal vocals in the world can only go so far if they are just regurgitated over eleven tracks. Even the collaboration tracks (five of them) are not all that different from the main game plan. The additional vocals, guitar or programming input seems incredibly sparse in terms of influencing the sound in any obvious form.
You can still hear the retro-Bolt Thrower vibes galore on here, just as you could on Crypt of Ice. Again, the appeal of this soon diminishes when it is so consistent, track after track. The simplicity of proceedings does not breed a welcome familiarity at all and I find it very hard to distinguish individual tracks as being standouts. With a slow to mid-pace tempo adopted for most of the album it borderlines on tortuous in places. You cannot rely on the crayons and finger-paint choruses of Abonimable to please a hardened death metal fan like me I am afraid guys. It harks of a desperate bid for mass appeal, crowd pleasing death metal that the band are much, much better than (or at least I thought). One album of this was entertaining. Two quickly gets boring and I am one more release away from simply not bothering again.
