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Frozen Wreath - Mea Culpa - Reviewed By thoseonceloyal! Wednesday January 24 2024, 8:35 PM

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Frozen Wreath - Mea Culpa - Reviewed By thoseonceloyal ! Check it out here https://thoseonceloyal.wordpress.com/2023/10/15/review-frozen-wreath-mea-culpa/

Review by Sandre the Giant

Hungarian atmospheric black metallers Frozen Wreath are back with a new record, ‘Mea Culpa’, following on from their 2021 debut ‘Memento Mori’. It is out now through Filosofem Records. I reviewed their debut here about two years ago, so it’ll be great to see how Frozen Wreath have moved forward with their vision.

Opener ‘Az én vétkem’ is a fiery yet gloomy piece of classic eastern European black metal atmosphere, where the ferocious meets the frosted fragility of melody. A glorious piece of art, you can already see the improvements on ‘Memento Mori’, a more confident grasp of dynamic pace changes, where the restrained, melodic sections should be and where the flaming spear of black metal should be thrust. The mournful strings of ‘Megrepedt vályogfalak’ remind me even of My Dying Bride a little, not quite the full weeping violin but there is definitely an element there. In other places, like the burning ‘Nem felejtek’, the frosted melodies are scalded away by a blitzkrieg of fire. Frozen Wreath are a group that have an expert hand on the switches between these two black metal elements, knowing when the melody is needed and when we just need savagery outright. Sometimes, in the case of album centrepiece ‘Vénülő kezek’ you get both. A magnificent, nine minute plus odyssey of both the delicate atmospherics and the furious natures on Frozen Wreath’s sound, it is a perfect example. If you are looking for their finest melodic moments, you’ll find them on ‘Az atya, a fiú…’ while closer ‘Búcsúlevél’ is unsettling, atmospheric black metal at its purest.

While ‘Memento Mori’ was a solid, well written debut, ‘Mea Culpa’ is a revelation. Everything I liked on their debut has been enhanced, given new life and more room to breathe. The arrogant thrust of Satyricon or early Darkthrone has been given a much more complex framework as a foundation, allowing the more gloomy keyboard work to really shine this time. A richer, fuller production has really added a lot too. A spacious, melancholic slab of black metal that delivers everything you need if you want your atmospheric black metal to be more black metal and less post rock. thoseonceloyal

Release Date: 13. September, 2023.

FFO: Dimmu Borgir, And Oceans, Catamenia

Location: Hungary

All hope is gone: the second album of the atmospheric black metal band FROZEN WREATH is out now, entitled ‘Mea Culpa’! The Hungarian atmospheric black metal duo FROZEN WREATH released their second album ‘Mea Culpa’, after previously introducing the record with a truly dark and depressing music video. The concept album includes 7 songs in nearly 50 minutes. All the lyrics are about suicide, but from different kind of aspects; meanwhile musicwise the band still plays in the style of the second half of the 90’s black metal, in the same vein as old Dimmu Borgir, And Oceans or Catamenia. Filosofem Records released the album on CD, but it will be soon available on all streaming platforms!

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