Gottlos und stolz

To round things off this is a short review of Froststarr’s first output which came in the form of a demo titled “Gottlos und stolz”. Consisting of 44 minutes of music you get quite a lot of value for your money so fans of raw and nihilistic black metal might give this one a shot.

The first thing I came to notice is the very raw and basic nature of the sound. The production screams eighties with especially the drums having this typical slightly steely tone. The guitar work is excellent and the often monotonous and stoic main chords are accompanied by some crazy lead harmonies. While the main themes are often repeated with only small variation the longer and shorter soloing parts are played with high intensity giving the whole music a very rough and wild feel.

The production quality gives the album a raw sound many times throughout, also in terms of the vocal aspects. The guitar riffs found on “Gottlos und stolz” aren't too complex or fast paced, but they still manage to keep a memorable tone and add to the stellar melodies accompanied by the steady percussions and some loud shrieks. There is some solo guitar action in certain songs, but it's never too overwhelming. However, I will say that the rhythm and the lead guitar complement each other adequately. Sharp basic chords are melted with eerie and hypnotic harmonies to create an outstanding atmosphere.

Not each of the songs follows a typical verse-chorus-verse formula, which gives already hints about a band going into their own direction. The vocals are rough and dirty, rounding off a neat little package that might be interesting for collectors of more obscure releases.