Frigoris - Wind (2013)

The German foursome of Frigoris came into motion back in '07, under the leadership of guitarist/vocalist Dominik Winter, although internal affairs in '09 forced the rest of the band out and Dominik began anew. At that point two demos had already been released, which was followed by the debut 'Nach dem Krieg' in '10 and most recently their second album 'Wind' through Misanthropic Art/Hypnotic Dirge Records.

Being completely unfamiliar with the bands past I'm really not sure how this album varies between their earlier album, but at least on this one what you can anticipate is Pagan tinged black metal that's full of atmosphere, acoustics, melodic leads and catchy riffs and raging black madness, that although common, is pulled off quite successfully here on, 'Wind.'

The mood of 'Wind' is often times of a more melancholy sort clearly felt through the riffs, and even more so through the various acoustics interspaced in the songs and the two gorgeous acoustic instrumentals, 'Windgeflüster' & 'Hauch.' However, this is very much a melodic black metal release and the band creates that loving (or is it hating?) combination between distressed emotion and unadulterated rage, which can easily be felt by anyone with pain in their hearts. I especially love '...Und Asche Rinnt Durch Meine Hände' as it builds, slowly and depressive, before breaking out into a aggressive jam, but then just as things seem to reach a peak the emotion pours back in with a good mixture of metal and acoustics that brings me back to the first Agalloch album, 'Pale Folklore.'

The vocals may be standard in their raspy shrieking delivery, but you can surely feel the emotion in Dominik's voice, as well the brief female vocals in 'Frühlingsnacht' add a little extra diversity. 'Ode An Verlorene Seelen' is an instrumental with a sample of various Jesus this and that, which would be fine, but since the samples are in English it seems odd amongst the otherwise entirely German lyrics. Speaking of which, I guess I don't really know what what the lyrics are about, but I'll reckon they have something to do with nature, spirituality and emotion, which seems perfect amongst their brand of black metal.

In the end, 'Wind' is a nearly fifty minute melodic black metal release that's filled with melancholy emotion and enough acoustics to please anyone that's into the style. I'll admit my first runs through the album didn't reveal much, but recently finding myself slipping back into one of my "moods" has helped me to really enjoy the album more and opened my ears to the many underlining melodies weaving about this one. Therefore, I anticipate it to continue to get plays in my stereo as the year grows dark and my will goes weak