Published: January 15, 2020

FRIGORIS is a Post Black metal band rooted in the heart of the ruhr-area, Germany. From their Facebook page, “the combination between Black Metal riffing and craftsmanship as well as a postmodern approach towards atmosphere and lyrics form a synthesis that results in long, atmospheric but melodious songs. The isolation and depression in modern society, the beauty of nature and a last pure shimmer of hope left are all tropes you can feel and read in the tracks. The trampled and narrow paths of Black Metal are left to find a new identity at the end of Parnassus.” “…In Stille” contains eight tracks.

“Aurora Stirbt” is the opening track. It opens with some doleful clean guitars before coming in hard and heavy. The melody is beautifully haunting, and something that really defines the genre. The screams are intense but the levity of the melody really shines. The sounds of the cello bring this out. “Funkenflug” opens with clean guitars and a depressive tone. Following an intense passage, the guitars smooth out like soft ripples on a pond of still water. The alternating passages of intense Black Metal with hopeless and more mellow ones is the perfect combination. “Das Licht in mir” hits you hard from the opening. But, they work in melody with the guitar work, really allowing the track to breathe.

“Stimmen im Regen” is both smooth and edgy at the same time. One guitar plays legato notes while the other strums fast and sharp. The vocals are intense bursts of anger while the instrumentation paints a desolate landscape. The ambient passage towards the end puts a stamp on the desolation. “Enikehr” opens with smooth and mellow clean guitars, with a simple melody. Once it gets going, it’s a little more on the softer side of the spectrum. Take in its beauty in its purest form. “Scheideweg” comes at you from a heavier edge, with a running guitar riff that does not sound like Black Metal. But it soon morphs when the vocals come in to something in the Black Metal realm. The ambient passage towards the end really brings the melody to the forefront. It’s a depressing, but pleasing melody.

“Die Gleise ad denen wir Starben I (Nu ein Moment)” starts the two-movement closer. It’s a very short little number, as compared to other tracks on the album. Soft, acoustical guitars combine with gentle cello to make for a very alluring sound. “Die Gleise ad denen wir Starben II (…in Stille)” is the longest song on the album, at over twelve minutes in length. The music opens with a gentle sway, while the vocals are raging and intense. Lead guitar notes create some doleful melody while a passage of pure hatred swells and spews forth, culminating in a crescendo of sound and then fading out with sorrowful cello notes and spoken word.

The album is masterful when it comes to atmosphere, tone, emotions and melody. They can let the melody shine while the vocals rage like a solitary figure standing alone untouched in the middle of a maelstrom. It’s more Atmospheric/Ambient Black Metal for me than Post-Black, but that is neither here nor there. The key is in the songwriting, their attention to detail, and the use of melody throughout. The interwoven melodies are something that only experienced and great songwriters can pull off, and this quartet works in perfect synergy in this area. Bravo!