Frost (UK)
Talking To God    
~reviewed by Joel Steudler

Sometimes, I like to let press releases speak for themselves.  With that in mind, lets see what the PR material for Frost's new album Talking To God has to say...

"The second black metal masterwork from Frost, evolving through necro hell to new territories of dynamic extremity and atmospheric grimness."
That's kind of like a sentence, I think, though it could use some more verbs.  Sounds exciting, at least, but I don't really know what it means.  Maybe if I were to read more, it would help make some sense of things...
"... Frost have taken the black metal blueprint of pure necro grimness and torn it in half."
Wow!  That does sound extreme! And dynamic! And violent.  Frost must be real vagabonds -iconoclasts, even- to dare undertake such heretical actions.  Tearing the blueprint for a whole genre in half!  What will people think?  Such scandalous acts will cause quite a stir once word gets out.  I'd better listen to the album now. I simply must experience such wanton disregard for the establishment with my own ears!  Here we go... 
...
...

Well, I am aghast with shock.  This is just another generic black metal album.  The songs are mostly repetitive, droning affairs light on atmosphere and long on numbing sameness.  If you find oppressive dullness to be somehow stimulating, there's plenty to like on 'Talking to God'.  There's not a catchy riff to be found anywhere on the album.  The only flickers of worthwhile music come in the form of sparsely intermittent thrashy guitar leads and some quasi-dramatic choral chanting.  Otherwise, Talking To God plays like Immortal's Sons of Northern Darkness minus all the interesting bits.  The oddly named musicians in Frost are purveyors of faceless monotony, doing nothing to distinguish themselves from any other black metal act.

I'll admit, I'm being pretty hard on Frost.  It's partially due to the ridiculous PR hype, which I suppose isn't their fault at all.  But it's also due to the fact that nary a riff on 'Talking To God' strays more than a semitone or two from good ol E5 powerchords, and they bludgeon you with that same sound over and over and over for forty five minutes.  They may have torn the blueprint for necro grimness in half, but they quickly taped it back together and followed it to the letter.  These songs wouldn't even make the cut as filler on a good band's album.  Frost certainly charts no new territory, and they aren't at all extreme (except for being extremely dull).  I suppose there are those of you out there who would characterize those traits as 'brutal' or maybe 'fucking necro, man!' or something.  Not me.  Frost just leaves me cold.
 

Track List:
01.) Sickness
02.) Filthy Black Shit
03.) And Still the Dreamer Sleeps
04.) The Eternal Sea
05.) Subliminal Hell
06.) The End
07.) Two of a Kind
08.) No Light
09.) Talking to God

Frost is:
Migg - instruments
The Fog - vocals
Shid - vocals
Abigail Winter - viola, female voice

Frost Official Site:
http://filthyblackshit.tk/

The End Records (US): 
http://www.theendrecords.com 

Rage Of Achilles Records:
http://www.rageofachilles.clara.net/

04/15/04