Extreme Loneliness - Fragments

Well, here's a band I'm happy to have stumbled upon. Downloaded this album exactly a month ago when it was on Frost's old site for free. Reading about the band here, they'd seem to be just another black metal blast-fest with lyrics of the satanic sort. Imagine my surprise at finding a melodically pleasing, well-produced album. Just from track one's first minute or so, the listener is treated to a simple mood-setting keyboard piece, followed by a heavy non-tremolo riff with snaky lead bits peppered through it, mid-tempo single-kick drumming and howled/yelled vocals. At 1:30 we get a cool little clean(ish) riff. Yes indeed, I was quite wrong - not two minutes in and they put my assumptions to sleep.

The album continues much in this fashion, though we do step into the realm of basic blast beats from time to time - not a bad thing, as this bad uses them only when the song calls for it. Frost are quite smart about songwriting, changing tempo often enough to keep one's interest, but in a controlled way, using such things as keyboard interludes, clean guitar and slow beats, as well as moments of deeper vocal lines to provide a mild shift in gears. Extreme Loneliness also benefits from solid production. No one instrument steals the foreground and the bass isn't buried.

There are a couple of black metal gems on here that need to be noted. "Storm Above the Carpathians" features at least one notable use of all involved musicians - that is, everyone gets their moment to shine. This track has a pounding, explosive main riff that works in direct relation to the drumbeat, using quick stops between each repeat of the main bar to enhance the atmosphere. It also has a short bass fill and a clean guitar lead section that provides brief tranquility before being thrown back into the storm. "The Curse" actually starts with whispered clean vocals, the only track they'll appear on during this album. The vocals go back to harsh and keep up a somewhat slow pace, contrasting the blasting and cymbal-heavy drum work. When the drums stop, a solemn lead riff, the whispered vocals and a keyboard line reminiscent of early Cradle of Filth sum the track up. "The Flying Back" is a short, repetitive instrumental based on a slow clean guitar melody and a bit of bass backing it. It's very tranquil and is a rather unusual way to end a black metal album.

I definitely recommend Extreme Loneliness to anyone looking for melodic black metal with some symphonic elements, it's a short but fairly diverse album with songwriting that never gets lazy or dull.

Stand-outs: Lost Connection, Storm Above the Carpathians, The Curse, Flying Back