Album Review: Frost Giant – The Harlot Star (Transcending Records)

Folk-metal band, Frost Giant will unleash their third full-length album on the 19th of January 2018 via Transcending Records. The Harlot Star is eleven tracks of punk rock, epic metal and hardcore inspired by Norse mythology.

The title track plays out soft melody that takes a dark & more epic turn before a rolling drum beat introduces Frost Giant properly. Forgive Me Not is a raging torrent of metal, one that shows off the band’s promise of ferocious heaviness alongside epic metal. It’s an unforgiving start, one that really excels when it slows down to deliver a wicked guitar solo before the folk side of things take over on the soaring vocals & rhythm.

An impressive start is followed by more soft melody on Apostasis, the face-melting fire of Curse of Doubt and the haunting chant of An Exile in Storm.

Frost Giant have created something here that keeps you on your toes constantly. You never know what you’re going to get with the next track. They follow thumping metal riffs & hardcore style vocals with sudden shifts into cold, morose melodies or in the case of Prisoner of the Past, bouncy folk sing-alongs. It can often seem as though you’re listening to a different band.

The disjointed sound of the album doesn’t stop it being an absolute monster of a release though. When Frost Giant hit hard, they deliver bludgeoning metal that is akin to be hitting over the head by the club of a troll. The roars & growls are one thing but the punky riffs and pounding double bass are another.

Tracks like The Forgotten Graves, an eleven minute opus will stick in the mind as it takes you on journey into a cold dark cave before lighting a match to reveal the hidden wonders inside. As you stare in amazement at what you see, you’re suddenly aware of the icy cold fingers touching the back of your neck & then everything goes dark. This song is a 10/10. Life-affirming & soul-touching.

Not content on allowing you to rest, Frost Giant continue their saga with the upbeat & crushing rhythm that makes up Of Clarity and Regret and the unbelievably stunning, Monuments to Nothing.

The latter half of the album is far more structured & far more enjoyable. The songs might go on for longer but they sound so huge, they fill you with such excitement that the length doesn’t matter. The evolving nature of the tracks just adds to the brilliance on show.

It’s exhausting but you’ll be hitting repeat the instant Perpetuum et Aeternum‘s sorrowful melody sees things out quietly.

It takes a little while to fully get going but once it does, The Harlot Star is a divine piece of music. Frost Giant have created a unique listen, one that has to be heard to be understood.

Frost Giant – The Harlot Star Full Track Listing:

1. The Harlot Star
2. Forgive Me Not
3. Apostasis
4. Curse of Doubt
5. An Exile in Storm
6. Prisoner of the Past
7. Ashes Among the Earth
8. The Forgotten Graves
9. Of Clarity and Regret
10. Monuments to Nothing
11. Perpetuum et Aeternum

You can pick up Frost Giant’s music via Bandcamp, stream via Apple Music below and order the new album via Transcending Records. Find out more about the band by liking their Facebook Page.