Reviewed - 02/05/06
A Journey To A Greater End
[No Colour Records]
"Fucking shit! Holy fucking shit!". This was my exact reaction when I first popped in the Swedish band Rimfrost's debut Mcd "A Journey To A Greater End" and hit "Play". Before I listened to this Mcd I thought by the sound of the band name and the look of the album cover art that this was just another run of the mill Black Metal band. I couldn't have been more wrong as while the band is a bit Black Metal in nature, their sound has a lot more in common with mid 80's Thrash Metal.
Thrash Metal from the 1980's is easily my favorite form of Metal on the planet, and let me tell you, Rimfrost does an excellent job at recreating the sound those great bands from back in the day had. "A Journey To A Greater End" mixes together the sound of early Kreator, Sodom and a myriad of other Thrash bands, yet it has a slight hint of raw Black Metal as well. This Mcd kind of reminds me of the later Immortal albums where Immortal started mixing Thrash into their Black Metal sound. Rimfrost does a better job at doing this than Immortal ever did though, if you can believe that. The musicianship on this album is perfect. Perfect! I wouldn't change a thing if I was them! Even when the music is playing at blazing speeds and destroying your senses via an auditory death blow, the music still is cohesive and well structures, no doubt as a result of the aforementioned great musicianship. The drumming on "A Journey To A Greater End" is spectacular. This is some of the best drumming I've heard in ages and when you listen to it you can't help but lose a little of your inhibitions and bang your head a bit.
The vocals are very similar to Immortal as well. While I usually like a bit of uniqueness when it comes to a band's vocals, I don't mind this at all as it fits the music perfectly. The vocalist has a raw and mid ranged Black Metal style, only withc a pronounced Thrash timing. From the song titles, I take it that all the lyrics are written and sung in English, but since the lyrics weren't included I can't comment on what the lyrics may be about.
The production on the album is great, especially when you consider that this album is released on No Colours Records who has a lot of bands on their roster that opt for the low-fi style of production. The guitars are crushing and the drums pound through everything like a bolt from the blue.
The artwork for the album is fairly decent, showing what looks like a cemetery scene. I really like their logo as well. Like I said earlier, this album art and logo makes one think of this album as being totally Black Metal in nature, but the looks here are definitely deceiving!
A lot of the "Retro Thrash" bands I've heard over the years just don't cut it for me. A few years ago there was sort of a Retro Thrash fad when bands like Inferno and some others decided to recreate the past. More often than not, it just didn't sound good to me. While Rimfrost definitely spends most of their time worshipping the greats that started the Thrash genre, they also add a bit of their own unique Black Metal influences and this is why it sounds so good to me while not sounding like a clich' or a complete rip off of the old bands. "A Journey To A Greater End" clocks in at just under a half hour, which is pretty long for a Mcd. Hell, bands like Deicide release full length albums that are only a few minutes longer! This is one of the best albums of the year, and I can't wait to hear a full length from these guys!
[No Colour Records]
"Fucking shit! Holy fucking shit!". This was my exact reaction when I first popped in the Swedish band Rimfrost's debut Mcd "A Journey To A Greater End" and hit "Play". Before I listened to this Mcd I thought by the sound of the band name and the look of the album cover art that this was just another run of the mill Black Metal band. I couldn't have been more wrong as while the band is a bit Black Metal in nature, their sound has a lot more in common with mid 80's Thrash Metal.
Thrash Metal from the 1980's is easily my favorite form of Metal on the planet, and let me tell you, Rimfrost does an excellent job at recreating the sound those great bands from back in the day had. "A Journey To A Greater End" mixes together the sound of early Kreator, Sodom and a myriad of other Thrash bands, yet it has a slight hint of raw Black Metal as well. This Mcd kind of reminds me of the later Immortal albums where Immortal started mixing Thrash into their Black Metal sound. Rimfrost does a better job at doing this than Immortal ever did though, if you can believe that. The musicianship on this album is perfect. Perfect! I wouldn't change a thing if I was them! Even when the music is playing at blazing speeds and destroying your senses via an auditory death blow, the music still is cohesive and well structures, no doubt as a result of the aforementioned great musicianship. The drumming on "A Journey To A Greater End" is spectacular. This is some of the best drumming I've heard in ages and when you listen to it you can't help but lose a little of your inhibitions and bang your head a bit.
The vocals are very similar to Immortal as well. While I usually like a bit of uniqueness when it comes to a band's vocals, I don't mind this at all as it fits the music perfectly. The vocalist has a raw and mid ranged Black Metal style, only withc a pronounced Thrash timing. From the song titles, I take it that all the lyrics are written and sung in English, but since the lyrics weren't included I can't comment on what the lyrics may be about.
The production on the album is great, especially when you consider that this album is released on No Colours Records who has a lot of bands on their roster that opt for the low-fi style of production. The guitars are crushing and the drums pound through everything like a bolt from the blue.
The artwork for the album is fairly decent, showing what looks like a cemetery scene. I really like their logo as well. Like I said earlier, this album art and logo makes one think of this album as being totally Black Metal in nature, but the looks here are definitely deceiving!
A lot of the "Retro Thrash" bands I've heard over the years just don't cut it for me. A few years ago there was sort of a Retro Thrash fad when bands like Inferno and some others decided to recreate the past. More often than not, it just didn't sound good to me. While Rimfrost definitely spends most of their time worshipping the greats that started the Thrash genre, they also add a bit of their own unique Black Metal influences and this is why it sounds so good to me while not sounding like a clich' or a complete rip off of the old bands. "A Journey To A Greater End" clocks in at just under a half hour, which is pretty long for a Mcd. Hell, bands like Deicide release full length albums that are only a few minutes longer! This is one of the best albums of the year, and I can't wait to hear a full length from these guys!
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Tracklist:
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| Rating: 10/10 | |
| Release Date: 2005 | |
| Length: 24:48 | |
| Review By: Britton Dicks | |
| Total Reviews: (1) | |
| Band's Website: Go Here | |
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