Frozen Crown floated about the outer edges of our recordscape for a few years. And yet, their wares never quite connected with the cranky folks over at the review desk. But I’d like to stress that Frozen Crown‘s earlier records – The Fallen King, Crowned in Frost, and Winterbane – got duly checked out nonetheless.
So, Call of the North came along somewhat at the last minute. And once it hit our music machine over here, we just kinda sat there in a trance. It was one of those rare Holy Metal Cow moments. This record indeed exudes an absolutely cosmic energy that we’ve seldom seen to date. And in truth, the RMR crew waited for a long time for that Power Metal record that would surpass the unbridled speedomania of Unleash The Archers without making total fools out of themselves. And it appears we just found them.
Once the rubber hits the road, these guys take off like Mad Max back in time and at a velocity to send the odometer into overdrive. Thunderous, monumental soundscapes suddenly attack your eardrums drunk on Giada Etro’s stellar pipes. Boy, the girl delivers the goods like no other. Up and down the octave chain without a note astray. And this comes with an almost preternatural energy that slices right through the tracklist. You see, Power Metal often sports metal screamers who get most of it right but suddenly lose control, and things move South. And that’s not the case here. Although, methinks that ballads are not quite her strong point.
Call of the North – whilst containing mostly fierce Power Metal – delivers a tune devoid of that sugary cheese that’s often dripping from other records. And that’s yet another jewel in the band’s crown. The wares on display are just pure power, full steam ahead, and no holds barred. All of that roars in on an abundance of technically challenging guitar work and solos fast enough to wear the drummer out. And sure enough, at certain moments, the warp-level blast beats move off-kilter some.
Interestingly, some melodeath vibes make an appearance, and that in a Power Metal piece. This was already present in their former records but this time both styles meld together perfectly. And in contrast, the band suddenly veers off into prog-ish territory for a few moments. In a Moment1, and Far Away contain some of those instances, with some of that followed by Týr-esque group chanting, courtesy of Federico Mondelli. This closeness to the Vikings of the North struck me a few times throughout the tracklist.
So, in other words, Frozen Crown here kinda stepped away from pvre Power Metal, but it won’t signify. And this isn’t new of course. Many bands out there freely garnish their tune with whatever suits them best and – in turn – saddle us with absolute killer records. The production – unfortunately – feels super tight and frazzled around the edges. And this is a pity on an otherwise almost flawless record.
But finally, Call of the North is the Power Metal record we sorely craved in 2022 but never got. True, we had great material, too. But this was of the sugary-sweet and overly polished kind. And that’s an acquired taste over here. You can imagine the hurrays ringing out in our office suite once this bundle of stellar energy took off. Writing high-speed Power Metal at this scope and scale is difficult, and molding it into a coherent mass even more so. Yet, Frozen Crown pulled this one off beautifully. And we’ll be forever grateful for this great juicy slab of metal, and kudos to the band.
Good stuff.
Ed’s note: Hunger for more unhinged Power Metal? Try this or this. And – drumroll – the record’s made it onto our 2023 Top Ten list. Congrats!
Record Rating: 8/10 | Label: Scarlet Records | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 10 March 2023
- No pun intended.-↩