Wow, again, it’s great to have the opportunity to see how far bands can go throughout the years. This year has been so great in terms of reviewing bands that are already our best known. It’s only March and I’ve lost track of how many following albums we’ve received here. This Frozen Crown “Call of the North” is one of them to pair with 2019’s “Crowned in Frost” and 2021’s “Winterbane.” As we all can see the band is following their biennal realeases with flying colors. Notwithstanding this fact, the band has been proving to be one of the rising forces of Power Metal on social media where the band has a very strong presence. That’s where I met them for the first time. Curiously, I started to receive their releases. So far, until 2021’s “Winterbane.” the band’s music didn’t change a lot. However, that’s not the reality my dear child of the night will find here with “Call of the North.” All right, so let’s go to the album.
Musicwise, “Call of the North” took Frozen Crown very near the realms of Melodic Death Metal. I dare to say that here the band has the instrumentals of Melodic Death Metal with clean vocals from Giada “Jade” Etro. If my dear child of the night listens instrumentals only, the album could be interpretated as Melodic Death Metal for sure. The guitar riffing of welcoming and tittle track “Call of the North” pretty much tells this tale. The intense hammering on low notes and the strong pounding drums showcases this picture. One step ahead it could be an Amon Amarth track. On the other side of the coin, the band took its symphonic verve more seriously here as well. They are more present and stronger than ever. The acoustic medieval mooded in the middle of the aforementioned track tells the tale pretty well. From where I’m sitting “Call of the North” is the track the most represents the album, as it would be expected. Following track “Fire in the Sky” showcases an interesting lost link between the melody of Blind Guardian and the guitar riffing of System of a Down. Its main guitar riff resembles a lot the intensity and the intent of “B.Y.O.B.” though more melodic due to the Blind Guardian references I told before. Bass lines of “Black Heart” also showcases this option of getting near Extreme Metal instrumental features as well as the guitar tones.
I see “Call of the North” as the bold album to take Frozen Crown to the very other level as standing out of the zillion crowds of sameness of Power Metal bands that play the same song for almost thirty years. It’s clearly a step ahead. The act of incorporating other Metal features in their music made Frozen Crown refresh the way they see Metal and, maybe, the way Metal fans see the band.
Frozen Crown “Call of the North” will be released on March 17th via Scarlet Records.
Track Listing:
- Call of the North
- Fire in the Sky
- Black Heart
- Victorious
- In a Moment
- Legion
- Until the End
- Now or Never
- One for All
- Far away
Watch “Call of the North” official music video here:
