In recent months I’ve been mulling over the virtues of concise songwriting. Thanks to its inherent pop appeal, power metal benefits most from diligent self-editing. The style’s inclinations towards grandeur and virtuosity mean that short-form power metal is uncommon, yet tasteful restraint can lead to breathtaking gut punches of concentrated genre excess. On their fifth LP, War Hearts, Frozen Crown seems to agree. Their preceding effort, Call of the North, was defined by extended track lengths that accommodated its adventurous and dynamic songwriting. In contrast, War Hearts feels like a throwback to the band’s earliest efforts, its streamlined compositions’ average length barely breaching the four-minute mark. The sense of scale feels narrowed, but this is still unmistakably a Frozen Crown record, with all the joy a Frozen Crown record entails.
War Hearts’ brisk pacing might be its greatest asset, resulting in the most addictively replayable Frozen Crown release since The Fallen King. Its tracks race by in DragonForce-esque swirls of melody and adrenaline, making it both the catchiest—and likely fastest—record in the band’s rapidly expanding discography. “War Hearts,” “Edge of Reality,” and (my personal favorite) “On Silver Wings” in particular are defined by protracted guitar lines and explosive vocal moments that exude unbridled power metal instinct. Even outside these songs, War Hearts is distinguished by the most purely power metal entry in the Frozen Crown canon. Where Call of the North opted to exclude harsh vocals entirely, War Hearts sees the band further (yet not entirely) reigning in their melodeath leanings. This is a leaner Frozen Crown in multiple respects, yet one that impressively feels as distinct as its meaner predecessor.
As infectiously propulsive as War Hearts can be, it is a notably less ambitious Frozen Crown offering by design. Slashing the average track length has led to more traditional song structuring, meaning that the condensed epics and unexpected compositional twists from the preceding record are more or less absent. I expect some fans may take issue with this shift, but I do not see the simplified songwriting as a net negative. This is merely a different flavor of Frozen Crown, standing out from past efforts through bespoke strengths and weaknesses. That being said, certain tracks weather this streamlining worse than others. “Night of the Wolf” is too straightforwardly fast to the point where its hooks fail to properly take hold. Conversely, “I Am the Wind” feels obligatory as the sole mid-paced number; enjoyable, yet ultimately unremarkable. Though very good in its own right, extra jolts of flair or complexity during War Hearts’ sporadic periods of monotony may have elevated it to excellence.
Frozen Crown’s gambit on a simplified experience has also diminished the progressive leanings often imbued into their riffs. While I miss those brain-tickling curveballs, War Hearts makes it up by filling their absence with brow-moistening fire bursts of technicality. The guitar work here is unquestionably the most impressive of the band’s efforts, with leads and solos that regularly recall Fraser Edward’s (Ascension) technicolor noodling. Recruiting a new guitarist in Alessia Lanzone (joining Sheena Bellomo and founding member Federico Mondelli) has surely contributed towards broadening the definition of the Frozen Crown sound. The guitars, paired with Giada Etro’s powerful yet naturalistic vocal timbre, make for one of the most colorful shredscapes in the genre today. It’s a shame that the performances feel crowded in the mix, an issue carried over from War Hearts’ predecessor, but its lush symphonic leanings sound pleasantly distinct in the band’s catalog all the same.
I love what Frozen Crown has accomplished with War Hearts, which is firmly my second favorite of their records. Frozen Crown has never failed in iterating from one album to the next; where their first three records felt like a band figuring itself out, War Hearts (as Call of the North before it) exemplifies a confident group comfortably experimenting within their broadly defined boundaries. I am all but certain that we will eventually be treated to Frozen Crown records that feel more complex and aggressive than War Hearts, as well as records that successfully iterate on its more accessible, power metal-forward approach. I’m at a point with Frozen Crown where I never quite know what I’ll experience with each new album, aside from confidence that what I hear will likely be very, very good. Any band that enkindles such a feeling of assurance is to be protected at all costs.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: ¯_(ツ)_/¯ | Format Reviewed: Haulix Stream (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
Label: Napalm Records
Websites: frozencrown.bandcamp.com/music | frozencrown.net | facebook.com/frozencrownofficial
Releases Worldwide: October 18th, 2024
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