FROZEN CROWN 'The Legend of The Six Kings'

FROZEN CROWN
The Legend of The Six Kings
Napalm Records

When it comes to female fronted metal, Frozen Crown is one of my favorite power metal outfits. The Italian band surfaced in 2017 and their debut album, The Fallen King, hurled them into the stratosphere of their contemporaries in the genre. Giada Etro is one of the strongest voices I have heard in a long time and the band has gained recognition through versatile and epic releases and tours with bands like DRAGONFORCE and ELVENKING. They will be forging ahead this fall with BEAST IN BLACK and SONATA ARCTICA.

'The Legend of Six Kings' is their current offering via Napalm Records and it is a bit different than their previous releases. Symphonic Power Metal is often in a class all it’s own and is known for powerful storytelling. The war forged anthems on this album certainly tell a story, but they deviate a bit from their regular formula. 

The record starts off strong with “Lightning in the Sky” and moves effortlessly into “Who Wants to Burn in Heaven”. These two songs are pure FROZEN CROWN. Heavy, melodic and seamless. Giada shares her vocal prowess with us here. “Reborn” caters to us with hook laden riffs and harmonious backup vocals and “The One” gives us depth and insight into the bands influences. They can keep the pace with bands like HAMMERFALL and SABATON when it comes to style and substance.
 
However, they lose me with their cover of “Iris”. Maybe it’s because it seems out of place, or maybe it’s because the “What was I like in the 90’s” social media trend used it and made me sick of hearing it. The original is not even a song I care for, but it’s what made the GOO GOO DOLLS a career. Technically, the band is as tight as you would expect, but it’s an overplayed ballad that I have a hard hearing done in a power metal rendition. 

Fortunately, they return to their signature style with “Winter Hearts” and “River of Time”. The triple guitar assault of Alexandra Lioness, Alessia Lanzone and Federico Mondelli is brilliant and it works. It reminds me a bit of triple axe attack used by LEATHERWOLF in the 1980’s. It gives the music depth that you don’t always hear. Drummer Niso Tomasini and bassist Francesco Zof provide a fantastic rhythm section that merges well with the rest of the aural integration of sound and story. 
The title track, “The Legend of the Six Kings”, is the strongest on the album. You get the pairing of growls and clean vocals from Giada and Federico. The band is gritty and dark on this record and it works. The production is exemplary and keeps the trend up as all of their previous albums are pristine when it comes to production and arrangements. There is a melodic death sound at play here and that fits in well with the warrior king theme. 

I will admit that I like some of their previous offerings a bit better and while this record is not my favorite by the band, it does bring us something new and unexpected. The musicianship is excellent and they are a treat live. If you have the opportunity to see them, and if this kind of music is your thing, they will blow you away.  It is raw and powerful and will only firm up their standing in the power metal community. 

4.0 Out Of 5.0