ALBUM REVIEW: War Hearts – Frozen Crown
It’ll take less than a second for you to decide if you like War Hearts. The latest album from FROZEN CROWN starts with the audio equivalent of being punched with helium; there are high pitched vocals, sickly-sweet guitar riffs and a keyboard being played so fast it could make the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs. It’s going to make some people instantly switch off and any death metal fans who stumble across this after mistaking them for FROZEN SOUL will likely start vomiting. Stick around a bit though and you might just have a blast.
Strictly speaking, this is the fifth full-length from the band, but it could be interpreted as a soft reboot. It’s their first record for Napalm Records and first as a six-piece and has a “opening chapter of the second book” vibe. They sound confident and comfortable in the identity they’ve forged for themselves, and the addition of new guitarist Alessia Lanzone (who isn’t even twenty yet!) has beefed them up. Italy has a rich but oft-overlooked power metal scene and alongside bands like WIND ROSE and ALTERIUM, FROZEN CROWN have the chance to be serious contenders.
Given that the album’s name is a homage to CHILDREN OF BODOM, it’s appropriate that the title track has all the delirious enthusiasm and warp-speed rhythms of the Finnish legends. It’s fast, pounding and adrenaline fuelled, with a few irresistible melodies and a big, catchy chorus. It doesn’t quite reach DRAGONFORCE levels, but it is ridiculous, daft and loads of fun.
And from there, they barely ease off the pedal. Steel And Gold maintains the momentum, Edge Of Reality is an optimistic trip through hyperspace and Night Of The Wolf is what happens when a Dungeons & Dragons enthusiast writes a Goth song while riding a sugar high and refusing to break character. FROZEN CROWN are a band that think subtext is for cowards, and this is deliriously over the top power metal at its most absurd.
In other words, it’s entirely understandable that some folks interpret this as no more than being trapped inside a SNES Game while suffering the worst migraine in history. Hell, there’s even going to be a few SABATON fans who discover this through a Spotify algorithm and hate it. But if you’re happy to embrace metal even at its cheesiest, nerdiest limits, War Hearts is like reading The Sword Of Shannara while eating Swiss fondue.
This isn’t the best power metal album of the year, but it might be the “most power metal” and it is loads of fun if you approach it in a certain frame of mind.
Rating: 7/10
War Hearts is out now via Napalm Records.
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