FROZEN SOUL were formed in 2018 and they are from Fort Worth, Texas. They play traditional, straight-in-your-face Death Metal. So far, FROZEN SOUL have released the demo "Encased In Ice" in 2018 and further two splits in 2019. Especially their demo was much appreciated by fans and critics and they have now released their first full-length album via legendary German label Century Media Records. The album has a length of almost 40 minutes.

People always want to have what they do not get. I assume if you live in Texas, your desire for snow and ice is to such extent that it becomes the central theme of a record. Ice, frost, and Death are typically lyrical themes of Black Metal bands, but FROZEN SOUL deliver an old school Death Metal album which has its roots in the nineties with bands like BOLT THROWER and, to a lesser extent, ENTOMBED.

The album starts with a dark and frosty intro that fits perfectly into the overall theme. "Crypt Of Ice" is pretty representative for the things to come: heavy and powerful guitar riffs mostly played at mid-tempo with slight variations. The blast-beat burst at the beginning of the song is rather an exception than the rule. The way how the vocals are performed remind a bit on Karl Willets (formerly BOLT THROWER). Songs like "Wraith Of Death", "Twist The Knife" and "Faceless Enemy" follow the patterns of the opener. One of the features in many songs are the cinematic intros that provide a gloomy atmosphere. "Wraith Of Death" is a slow and doom-laden song with a couple of tempo breaks. Guitar riffs are fairly straightforward and simple without a great deal of technicality. "Faceless Enemy" includes lead guitar sequences that contribute nicely to the song and add to its heaviness.

"Arctic Stranglehold"; "Hand Of Vengeance", "Merciless", and "Beat To Dust" are among the faster songs on the album but include tempo breaks with slow, heavy, and dark rhythm guitars. The song structures are fairly simple, but effective: starting with a short introductory sequence at slow pace followed by the fast part of the song. "Arctic Stranglehold" transitions a couple of times from dark and heavy slow parts to faster parts. The heaviness of the slow parts are typically enhanced by adding double-bass drums to the mix as in "Hand Of Vengeance".

In general, the drums on the album are kept relatively simple but effective, double-bass drums were added when needed, blast-beats are almost absent. The guitars provide a strong rhythm base, lead guitar sequences are rare and lead guitar solos do not exist on the album. With "Crypt Of Ice" and "Encased In Ice", there are two official video releases from the album, for "Crypt Of Ice" follow the YouTube link below.

FROZEN SOUL deliver an old school Death Metal album that strongly reminds on the early period of Death Metal. I like that approach and I like the album. There are no sound experiments and there is little diversity in sound from the first to the last song. The songs are heavy, powerful, and dark. "Crypt Of Ice" maintains a rawness throughout the album and the band clearly sticks to their role models. The album is very well produced. Fans of classical Death Metal will love the album, so do I. FROZEN SOUL release a very strong debut album and if they can maintain that level, there will be many things to come in the future.