Frosthammer - Winter's Embrace

Frosthammer

Winter’s Embrace

2010

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Frosthammer hail from the icy mountainous region of my homeland, Canada, known as British Colombia and play a melodic brand of black metal. I imagine the name is a portmanteau of founding black metal bands Celtic Frost and Hellhammer. This is their second demo, the first of three I will be reviewing.

"Winter’s Embrace" is the perfect name for this demo. Not only do they come from the great white north, but their sound is certified cold (with the demos I received a sticker with the band logo with the tag line certified cold underneath), displaying a wintery, almost distant production job which only enhances the listening experience.

The guitars are typical black metal tremolo picking, although they often allow for many clean guitar passages which switch things up quite nicely. The keyboards are exhibited from time to time, showcasing eerie effects. The drums play an interesting part: though I can’t seem to put my finger on it exactly, they have some double bass in the background, while the cymbals almost carry a melody up front. The vocals are generally a mid- range growl, but they fluctuate: dipping lower and occasionally going up high for a powerful shrieking effect. There are some clean vocals on this demo as well, but they are mostly quite weak except for on “Shadows”, which features entirely clean vocals and utilizes a clean guitar tone. This combination creates a quasi-medieval sound and is easily one of the high points of the demo, tied only with the ”Where the Northern Wind Doth Blow” saga as the best songs.

While they may not be the most original band, they are definitely one of the best up and coming black metal bands around. And I own their demo, how tr00 and kvlt am I?

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Claus’ rating: 3.0/5