A Frozen World Unknown

Shortly after the death of the second wave, there was an influx of “clones”. Like in the Hollywood movie ‘Bicentennial Man’, the clone wants to be just like the original and will go to any lengths possible just to fit in with the crowd. Though they’re ridiculed for possessing these clone like traits, the bands persist to rely on a carven copy sound, inspired directly by their idols, in order to bring them glory and success. Basically, these bands sound as close as possible, if not identical to their second wave heroes from Scandinavia and though it is rather undesirable, there are a few noteworthy acts who have managed to establish some sort of underground fame for reigniting the second wave flame. Though bands like Burzum and Darkthrone, from what I have seen at least, tend to have the most copycat followers, Immortal drew in their fair share too and this is where Rimfrost comes into the frost bitten, ice cold and grim picture. There are so many connections from this Swedish band to the resurrected Norwegian entity Immortal.

I do wonder what the fate of bands like this is now that their heroes have returned to the scene, just as Burzum have done with the release of Varg Vikernes from prison and his supposed continuation of the band within the black metal scene. Although prominent band Darkthrone have never gone away in the physical sense, their distinctive black metal ties were cut when the heavy punk vibe was called upon to suffocate the fans with repugnant drivel after the mid 1990’s had been and long gone. As a modern man, I’ve never been swept up in the romanticised and perhaps idealised vision of the second wave. To older fans, it was the glory days. The age when black metal had its place and a time that the genre was most prominent. I tend to vehemently disagree with these notions by stating the complete opposite to these romantic suggestions.
Whilst I respect the influence of the second wave, I am more connected to the modern era because it has been the time when black metal has seen a notable rise in acts and talents, both collectively and individually.

So, when it comes to finding a place for “clone” bands in the modern era, I assumed that - given the defunct status of bands like Burzum and Immortal before recent times - that these bands would appeal greatly to those who say that black metal has lost its edge with the increase of experimentation and outside influences. However, since these two established bands have returned, the appeal of these almost identical bands is in jeopardy. It’s almost as if bands like Rimfrost were keeping the throne warm, like a respectful son, for the anticipated return of the king, who comes in the form of Burzum, or Immortal, depending on the clone status. Whilst there are bands who sound mildly similar to second wave acts that I myself enjoy extremely, they also add their own individualistic elements to their sound, drawing the attention away from the similarities to former idols. Whilst, on occasions, I have been known to enjoy straight-up clones, which does include Rimfrost, I don’t tend to unless they have a decent understanding of the second wave methods and vitally high levels of musicianship and song writing, two key areas to any bands success.

So, despite the fact that everything, even down to the bands name, screams Immortal fans, Rimfrost still manage to generate a reasonably pleasing sound by mixing the eras of Immortal without sounding too raw. There are elements which are, in particular, identical to Immortal like the song titles, or even the lyrics, but Rimfrost still endure the undesirable “clone” tags by improving themselves in key areas such as the song writing, where most undesirables fail and subsequently fall into the infinite abyss of cold darkness. In terms of differences from Immortal, there aren’t many. The production is more accessible than that on ‘Pure Holocaust’, an Immortal classic, but less melodious than, lets say, ‘At The Heart of Winter’, which features outrageously melodic beasts like ‘Solarfall’ and the self-titled epic. Rimfrost don’t exactly command the same sense of melody as those particular songs, nor do they invoke the same sort of majesty that Immortal managed in their hay day, but this approach, though ridiculously akin to middle of the road Immortal, is pleasing enough given the capable musicians to pass by positively. The vocals resemble latter day Abbath, rather than his primitive sound at the beginning of his career and will cause a certain nostalgic feeling to rise from the eternal blizzard of the some times repetitive style, especially when coupled with the soaring guitar solos and typically second wave themed lyrics;

“When demons rode the sky
From fire to ice
A frozen world unknown
Pitch black caves of glaciers
Death from above
A frozen world unknown”

Though Rimfrost sound and even look like a younger Immortal, their no thrills style is a pleasing vision into the past.