Holy hell, what an album title that is. You could honestly not pitch me a new record much better—unless maybe it was in German. Based out of North Dakota, Frosthelm have only been on the scene since 2009, with The Endless Winter being their first full-length album. And maybe it’s because when I popped this thing on, I’d only just finished reviewing what I consider one of the better albums of the year, but when all’s said and done I’m left wondering what this otherwise impressive album is missing…

Let’s start high-level. The cover art is awesome and the album and song titles are amazing, especially if you’re into the kind of metal that I am. As such, it would only be natural to assume an album and band of these names would fall into more of the classic black metal themes we are so familiar with. Yet, instead, we get an interesting thrash and black metal fusion at the outset—heavy on the thrash. Frosthelm do their best to create the atmosphere and emotion of the grim and frostbitten forests of Norway while simultaneously striving to keep our heads banging and our horns high from start to finish. And for the most part, they succeed in blending these styles over the course of a rather brief, half-hour listen.

I would like to first touch on the impressiveness of both the production and the musicianship. It’s an album you need to listen to at full volume to get its full effect. There are no breaks here. It opens comfortably with the instrumental “Glacial Eons” (have I mentioned how awesome the song titles are?) but from there we get pummeled track after track, starting with “A Storm of Teeth,” The tremolo picking is absolutely relentless, the percussion is varying and quite technical (although very blast beat-ridden), the solos show some real ability, and it’s all mixed to the point where none of this skill is left behind. This is worth noting for the debut album of a band immersing themselves in a subgenre rarely perfected.

For the songs themselves, there are certainly some highlights. For example, “Forlorn Tides” is damningly ominous with its low-end tremolo picking and galloping cadence. The same can be said about “A Tomb of Sordid Ruin,” which significantly reduces the pace of the album, but halfway through, it’s a good thing. I also took note of the title track and “Hell Within Us,” both of which could get a crowd moving as well as anything if performed live, at least early on. Several of these songs experience a number of time changes, and that applies here. Oh, and the closer, “Silent and Dark the Everlasting Sky” (not-grammar?) is absolutely killer in all capacities.

At the same time, despite these positives, a few of the songs on The Endless Winter seem to have been cut from almost too similar molds. The tracks can get lost within each other, at times lacking a certain individuality from one to another. However, when all is said and done, this being a 33-minute listen, that could have been foreseen.

I’ll be honest, the first couple times through The Endless Winter didn’t do much for me. I thought the album was good, but it didn’t really keep my interest. It’s certainly worth going through a few times, as you’ll miss a few things here and there, and as a result it did eventually grow on me. Much of the personality here screams black metal, but the music itself has far more of a thrash influence, so the aggression is apparent throughout. Maybe not the most memorable album we’ll hear all year, but there’s some serious talent at work at all levels of musicianship. Frosthelm may still have plenty of room to grow, but they’ve certainly succeeded in putting themselves on our radar.

“Ein Bier… bitte.”

– Corey

The Endless Winter is available now on Black Work (Alkemy Brothers). For more information on Frosthelm, visit the band’s Facebook page.

Live. Love. Plow. Horns Up.