Spain’s Frozen Dawn chronicles an end on The Decline Of The Enlightened Gods.
Hailing from Madrid, Frozen Dawn has been an important presence is the European heavy music scene since their inception in 2006. With three previous impressive long-players under their belt, the new record is one of the few that can genuinely be described as highly anticipated. Their version of melodic black metal is higher energy than you find in other groups with similar descriptors, and their compositions achieve complexity while remaining approachable. The band is Dani Grinder Álvarez (vocals, guitar), Antonio Mansilla (bass, guitar), and Arjan van der Wijst (drums)
“Mystic Fires of Dark Allegiance” teases water and breaks shrill, startling you to attention. Melodic passages waylay your guard at your own peril because a careening black metal attack is on the way. Blast beats walk alongside moderated rhythm guitar and howling vocals. It is disequilibrating. Whenever a quieter moment seeps in, it makes you nervous because you expect a pummeling to smash your cranium any second. And it always does. “Spellbound” speeds off in a rage, like a slashed throat in the first frame of a horror movie. The music is relentless for four and a half minutes. No respite. Then comes “Black Reign Awaits” on a freezing wind. There is more of a groove here, but the speed overcomes it.
The album is breathless for the listener. Even songs like “Frozen Kings,” which has a stabilizing, rugged riff, are hard-charging and intense. “Wanderer of Times” seems a little more laid back at first, but it is not at all that way as the music progresses. There is a moment of quietude with “The Fall of Aeons,” a short piece that functions as a transition to the cover of Necrophobic’s “Blinded By Light, Enlightened By Darkness,” but it is the only one. Frozen Dawn is out for the kill on this record, and kill they do. This is the best music I have heard from the band, and the album is an early contender for best-of lists. Highly recommended.
The Decline Of The Enlightened Gods is out on Friday, February 10th through Transcending Obscurity Records. In the US, Bandcamp is an easy way to order the music and merch at the link below.
Links.
Bandcamp, https://frozendawnbm.bandcamp.com/album/the-decline-of-the-enlightened-gods-black-metal
Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/truefrozendawn
Transcending Obscurity Records, https://transcendingobscurity.aisamerch.com/
© Wayne Edwards
Flying Fiddlesticks Music Blog 