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Frozen Dawn – The Decline Of The Enlightened Gods

frozen dawn – the decline of the enlightened gods

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Spain’s Frozen Dawn have kept fans hungry for some time as since 2017 they have been patiently awaiting the next ‘Winterland’ story from this Melodic Black Metal trio. After nearly 5 years- and their longest gap between album releases- the band have unleashed ‘The Decline of the Enlightened Gods’ which is just as powerful as their last three releases, if not cleaner in sound. Perhaps part of it is the new home on Transcending Obscurity Records, who are a bit of a surprise as many of the artists on their label have that fuzzy old school sound more to their music that is rooted more in the 90s era of Black and Death metal. Frozen Dawn have a bit of a more polished sound that would appeal to those who like labels like Nuclear Blast or Century Media, but just because Transcending took a chance on these guys doesn’t mean it’s a bad move; it’s actually quite good! While the music may not be in the vein as so many other artists on the label, it is still ferocious, still harsh in some places, but also highly melodic. The closest comparisons can be made to the likes of Naglfar from the likes of ‘Pariah’ days an onward- guitar melodies, drum tone, and vocals all sound incredibly similar, especially when hearing a track like ‘Spellbound.’ The band’s ability to use simply guitar, bass, drum, and vocals to create such a melodic atmosphere is very impressive, and clear at the same time. Think Immortal, but less raspy and fuzzed out, and minus the corpsepaint of course. While many of the tracks do tend to sound similar, Frozen Dawn do their best to vary things up. There is even a bit of Thrash and Groove elements with a track like ‘Frozen Kings.’

Other influences that pop of include Old Man’s Child, but more from the ‘In Defiance of Existence’ days. Guitar melodies and solos with what sounds like even backing keyboards on ‘Black Reign Awaits’ will certainly appeal to fans of that area of the genre, but simply lack of keyboards and synths, whereas Old Man’s Child tends to use them in abundance, is what separates Frozen Dawn from them. Frozen Dawn aren’t really one for soft interludes or lush moments, though there is the acoustic track ‘The Fall of Aeons’ which serves as a nice break from the heaviness. It is slow, morose, doesn’t really touch on Melodeath or Meloblack from other bands, but rather almost more of a Folk or Neofolk sound. Fans will either take it as a breather or filler. Thankfully the album ends on a strong note with a cover from Necrophobic (no surprise there considering the band released a whole album of covers already) whose thrashy Black Metal style fits well with Frozen Dawn’s touch, just a bit more melodic. Overall, those who know of Frozen Down from their inception of 2006 will find ‘The Decline…’ right in the vein of what they’ve been doing so far, but better. For new listeners, guitar driven Melodic Black Metal listeners will be right at home with this style. It may not be their most epic album, but one of their more polished and well crafted ones.

Frozen Dawn

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