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Frost Giant > When Myth and History Merged into Mystery > Reviews > GurrG
Frost Giant - When Myth and History Merged into Mystery

Punky Powermetal - 75%

GurrG, November 16th, 2012

I should start by saying that I am not a fan of chorus rich power metal. Now that we have that out of the way, Frost Giant, a band from Pennsylvania have found themselves a niche in the folk/power metal scene. Their sound is something that I have never heard before, incorporating several styles together such as hardcore punk, power metal, folk, and a touch of melodic death metal. The production is very decent for an independent band. Everything has its place and doesn't get lost in the mix, even when there are several voices doing harmonies at the same time as two guitars, bass and of the drums. If they produced this album in a home studio, kudos to them, they are on the right track to getting a professional sound.

I think the main focus of the music is in the vocals. They have several vocalists at once in many parts, doing catchy clean choruses. The harmonies they use are quite nice, don't sound out of place with the music and aren't too overwhelming which seems to be a common mistake for many bands. The guttural vocals are hardcore style, sort of clean guttural shouts, with lots of tonal variation and good placement in the rhythms. The guitars create a nice melodic environment, and have some decent punch to them giving the album a good meaty tone where it needs it. They do end up sounding muddy in some parts and get a bit lost in the mix. The bass is right there all the time, although I think the tone is a bit flat and could use some more tweaking to make it sound heavier. I like how the guitars and bass come together in harmonies in several moments, most notably in parts like minute 1:00 of Heathen's Lament. The drums are programmed, but not real obviously. Some of the cymbals sound a bit funny when they are used in succession. The overall sound of the drum kit is not bad, but I think the kick drum is lacking attack. It gets a bit lost in the mix and loses definition in fast parts.

'When Myth and History Merged Into Mystery' is an album that is definitely worth checking out, even if you aren't a fan of the genre, because Frost Giant is making good music and obviously putting a lot a effort into their production. The overall sound is clean but heavy, catchy but not poppy, and pleasantly vigorous. I would like to hear material from Frost Giant in the future, as they seem to have found their sound and are well on their way to becoming a force to be reckoned with.

P.S. I failed to mention that the album name is clever :)