Genre : Math-metal, Nu-core, thall, Progressive metal
Released : January 6th, 2023
Label : Self-released
FFO : Car Bomb, Vildhjarta, KoЯn
And here we are, back in business with the first write-up of what is already shaping up to be an exciting year for heavy music once again; and what better way than to kick things off with the latest offering from the nu-thall Norwegian wizards, Frostbitt.
Leaving behind the boiling magma of their debut "Solbrent" and moving forward from the glacial desolation of their excellent 2020 re-work of their self-titled demo album; for their new conceptual installment, Frostbitt embrace a cybernetic, AI-driven mechanical dystopia in which what little remaining trace of humanity that is left is a tortured consciousness forever tormented inside the oxidized shell of an undying exoskeleton.
Let's be honest, on paper, that sounds like an absolutely miserable time but fortunately enough, when it comes to the actual music acting out this nightmare scenario, "MACHINE DESTROY" is an incredibly fun, groovy and entertaining record to sink into despite the darkness of its thematical concept.
When I first discovered this band during the dark and miserable winter of 2020, I instantly fell in love with their unique style which gave all of their stuff an unmistakable "glacial" feel and despite being excited to see where they would go after this strong thematic attachment to all things cold, I was also worried about whether them exploring new themes would potentially muddle what made their identity so strong and interesting in the first place.
As it turns out, those signature elements have been carried on forward into this new release but have also been improved upon and adapted to fit this new environment of cyborgs and gamma rays.
Indeed, "MACHINE DESTROY" seems to emphasize the groove and melodic catchiness that is at the band's core sound more than ever before while also allowing them to go even crazier on the sound design experimentations when it comes to the guitar tones and the odd sounds and quirks they are able to pull out from them.
I would describe Frostbitt as being a perfect combination of the main signature musical elements that define Vildhjarta, Car Bomb and KoЯn, and on this new record, this tricky yet explosive formula feels more well-balanced and more expertly mastered than ever before.
Something I really like about this album is that you can genuinely tell the band are having fun with the experimentation process, trying out a whole bunch of different techniques and effects to bring to life a wide array of weird sounds to integrate into their songs and kind of bring their concept to life in doing so.
I also feel bad for the rhythm section since some of those polyrythms must be an absolute pain to memorize but, I imagine, must be extremely satisfying to pull off.
Another thing that comes across with this new album is just how much everyone in the band has been consistently improving their craft (Ivan Hansen on vocals especially delivers some incredible high-pitched compressed vocal sections and makes full use of the different vocal techniques he is able to pull off to great effect) and how the addition of an extra guitarist has brought tidbits of new songwriting ideas here and there (the Meshuggah-like solos on tracks like "Bionic Scrapyard" and "Sub-Zero Humanoid" were unexpected but welcome surprises).
Frostbitt have such a unique and fun sound which they have refined even further and taken up a notch on this new album of theirs.
Super groovy, stupidly heavy, refreshingly creative, surprisingly melodic and even moving at times while still keeping a healthy dose of zaniness; "MACHINE DESTROY" kicks open the doors to 2023 in spectacular fashion with enough laser beams to make the Galactic Empire jealous.
If you're a fan of heavy experimental music and a crossover between the unmistakable crushing yet sorrowful nature of thall, the wild chaotic experiments of mathcore and the angsty grooviness of nu-metal sound good to you, hop on board the Frostbitt train right now.
The future is here and hopefully it's not as grim as Frostbitt depict it to be.
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