Sinister Frost - Cryotorment
I guess it’s a given that every country on this planet that has a Black Metal scene has at least one Cradle of Filth clone. Some places have multiple versions of Cradle of Filth, all with their own twist on the whole Gothic/Symphonic Black Metal thing. Sinister Frost is Russia’s version. I have to admit that my initial reaction was negative because the comparison to Cradle of Filth is just too easy to make. You can tell right away where this band gets their main influence. I had to listen to this record multiple times to get around the obvious comparisons. Though this is their first album, Sinister Frost is a pretty talented group. Even though Cryotorment sounds like a copy of Cradle of Filth, that isn’t exactly the easiest band to duplicate. It takes a lot of skill to pull off the arrangements and orchestration that goes along with the Gothic/Symphonic Black Metal style. What sets Sinister Frost apart from most of the other bands in this genre is their incorporation of Death Metal into their music. The vocals are very guttural, though still fairly understandable. The production is also stronger and the guitars aren’t buried underneath a colossal wall of keyboards the way so many other bands have theirs. This is a fairly solid debut with the only major flaw being the obvious influences. This doesn’t go anywhere that Cradle of Filth or Dimmu Borgir didn’t already go ten years ago. I’m fairly forgiving when it comes to debut albums these days, and while this isn’t the most groundbreaking thing ever released, it is well executed and the songs are solid. Sinister Frost is off to a good start. Their next release will be the one that will determine whether they can come out from under the long and dark shadow of Cradle of Filth. If they can find their own style and sound, they’ll be contenders for the throne. If they stay on the well trodden path that was blazed by Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir, they’ll be just another clone band in a sea of clone bands.
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