Released earlier this year and with no prior demos or E.P.’s. Germany’s FrostSeele give us their Atmospheric Black Metal debut PrækΩsmium. This is essentially one man’s vision, who also goes by FrostSeele, brought to fruition with the help of session musicians. But this is far from some bedroom project.
With only 5 songs totalling 45 minutes of music, songs are made to be epic feeling and sounding. Expansive tracks (two over the 10 minute mark) allow FrostSeele to add many elements to a single song. Going from acoustic strumming to mid-paced Black Metal with Die Architektur des Seins. Or the song Du, starting with a Depressive Black Metal vibe and ending with an all out Black Metal assault before closing with a soft piano and guitar mix. Also using synth and violin in many songs, and wrapping it all in crisp and full production. Vocals are typical for type of genre and really only show up in two songs as the others are primarily instrumental. Musically this made me think of a sunnier October Falls at times.
Every now and then a band seemingly comes out of nowhere and releases an album that makes people take notice. While nothing here is overly original for this genre, PrækΩsmium is well made and sets up a template for this band to grow from. A possible year end favorite for this reviewer.
[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]