Review: Frozen Crown – War Hearts

Napalm Records (October 18^th, 2024)

Reviewer: Jason Hopper

Frozen Crown has unveiled their seventh album, and their first on Napalm Records, ‘War Hearts’.  his six-piece features the triple guitar attack of founding member Federico Mondelli, lead Fabiola Bellomo, and their newest member, 18-year-old Alessia Lanzone. I point this out to those not familiar with the band as you can ascertain the sonic assault that three guitars would lend to a band. This group is modelled after a band like Dragonforce, supersonic speed drums accompanied by shredding guitars also going at lightning speed. If that’s the sound of metal you enjoy, then bon appetit! For me, it’s a bit too exhausting, but it did not have to be. I’ll explain in a bit.

First, let’s start with the good stuff. The label was wise to release the tracks ‘Steel and Gold’ and the title track as singles. It’s very representative of the album and it’s my two favorite tracks, especially the title track. While it’s incredibly intense, the rhythm in the verses where the snare beat slows slightly while still maintaining the frenetic double bass has such a cool and powerful feel to it. Singer Giada “Jade” Etro has a great range and does not resort to growl vocals, which I find to be a deterrent. When I first heard these songs, I dug them, but was hoping that the band would have more to offer than this type of intensity. While it’s great for a few songs, it can get tiresome quick…and that’s exactly what happens.

The album opens with the two songs above and maintains that type of speed metal through the first six tracks, with slight tempo variations throughout, but not enough of them. All of the songs are impressive, but it is all too much at once. It’s not the guitar work or singing that is the issue here, it comes down to the drumming. Niso Tomasini is a very impressive drummer, but his playing does not vary enough in these tracks and four songs in, I found myself getting a bit bored. He relies too much on his speed dynamics.

It is not until Track 7 that the listener gets any relief, and then the album reveals its greatest flaw. The final four tracks on the album are not nearly as frantic, with more of an emphasis on power as opposed to speed. It makes the album feel lopsided. This album would be far stronger had the sequencing been altered to have these tracks spread throughout the first six songs.

Of those last four tracks, ‘Bloodlines’ is the standout, as it’s vampiric in nature and I do love a nice mix of metal and horror. ‘I Am The Wind’ has a mid-tempo heavy feel to it that would have been perfectly placed as Track 3 on the album. It’s also the song that has the least number of changeups throughout. While tracks with varying rhythms are appreciated, it balances an album out by throwing in tracks that are more straightforward.

The ladies and gentlemen of Frozen Crown are incredibly proficient, and the melodies do resonate, but variety is the spice of life, and the album could have used more of that, especially in the drumming. This album has some great tracks but it’s best experienced on a playlist, where the songs are scattered about. A personal reordering would certainly work as the listener is bludgeoned with the current order of the album. There are some worthy songs here if you like your metal played at hyper speed levels, so do check it out.

Tracklist:

1. War Hearts
2. Steel and Gold
3. To Live to Die
4. Night of the Wolf
5. On Silver Wings
6. Edge of Reality
7. Bloodlines
8. I Am the Wind
9. King of the Sky (Instrumental/Interlude)
10. Ice Dragon

Line-up:
Giada “Jade” Etro – vocals
Federico Mondelli – vocals, guitar
Fabiola Bellomo – guitar
Francesco Zof – bass
Niso Tomasini – drums
Alessia Lanzone – guitar

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