Frozen Soul
Glacial Domination – Century Media Records
In terms of crushing heaviness, nothing can match an old school death metal band in full flight and Frozen Soul are currently the finest purveyors of said genre. Picking right up where their debut left off, Frozen Soul’s sophomore album, Glacial Domination,is jam packed full of stomping riffs, guttural growls, and gnarly solos that prove there’s nothing lukewarm or tepid about this Texan quintet. Tapping into a similar aesthetic as British bruisers Bolt Thrower, it seems that Frozen Soul were tailor made to fill the gap vacated by their retirement, and this albumfinds them carrying the torch in style. Their sound is warlike, with drums marching like an invading army and guitars lighting up the sky as if phosphorous flares. With their almost autistic focus on arctic themes, there’s always a risk that Glacial Domination could slip into genericism, but Trivium main man Matt Heafy adds some colour to the frostbitten title-track (he also produced the album), whilst Dying Fetus growler John Gallagher lends his pipes to ‘Morbid Effigy’ and both bring extra layers of texture to an already rich sound. Providing chuggy numbers and thrashers in equal measure, Glacial Domination proves their debut was no mere fluke, and if you want to know what the future of death metal holds, the answer’s right here.
Review by Peter Dennis