Arriving this June on Hypnotic Dirge Records and Misanthropic Art Productions we have Frigoris and their sophomore release “Wind”. Perfectly mixing acoustic guitars with melancholic Black Metal, the band creates a very powerful and emotional atmosphere around their songs. Hailing from Germany, this band is an ideal match for fans of bands like Agalloch, Fen, and Woods of Ypres, and older Empyrium.

Opening with the mysterious intro “Windgeflüster” that features some nice acoustic guitars and whispers, the band fully explodes with “Zwischenwelten”. This straightforward Pagan/Black Metal track is quite melancholic and perfectly crafted to create a special atmosphere. The BM harsh vocals are quite good, but what elevates this release is the creepy whisper/acoustic guitar combination that bands like Empyrium have used in the past.

With a big emphasis on atmosphere, the intro to “Im Keim ertrunken” is quite relaxing, only to have the band immediately switch into some vicious Black Metal passages. There are several epic melodic moments in this track, showing Frigoris excellent composition skills. As the album keeps flowing, tracks like “Frühlingsnacht” and “Hauch” are excellent examples of the band’s knack for crafting lush atmospheric melodies filled with powerful Black Metal riffs and screams.

Our favorite track is the near-perfect “...und Asche rinnt durch meine Hände”, a song that weaves back and forth between ethereal atmospheres and harsh and cold Black Metal sections. By the time we hit the last two tracks “Ode an verlorene Seelen” and “Wenn die Maske bricht”, the band started to get a bit repetitive. While we enjoy their music, the last two songs seemed a bit too familiar to earlier songs every time we played this release.

Besides the little issue with sounding a bit repetitive, “Wind” is an outstanding release filled with brilliant acoustic/atmospheric passages. The album’s production is a bit wobbly since the drums/guitars sound a bit funky at times, but this might be an issue with our promo. Frigoris is one of those bands that have all the right elements in their music to easily standout from the rest, if you like lush atmospheric music with intense Black Metal elements; this is the release for you.

Rating: 88/100
Reviewed by: Dark Emperor