Track Listing
01. Through the Exterior02. Siberia
03. Day of the Collapse
04. Wire Forms
05. This Is a Fraud
06. Crosses
07. The Saviour
08. Expert in Trickery
09. Atlantic
10. Sing, Sing Ain't My Style
11. 444
12. By Virtue
Tags: First Signs of Frost, Lost Prophets, Static-X, TRAPT
After a long holiday break, I was eager to get back to my desk and dig into the long list of waiting albums seeking my gracious opinion. So in light of the season and time of year, I chose to start with First Signs Of Frost. I was, until now, unaware of these guys and after doing a little research was excited to find they were another band hailing from our neighbors to the east. Straight out of London, this quintet comes across with a very radio friendly, mainstream sound. After spending some time with their new release Atlantic, it’s safe to say they seem to have a solid grasp of making good music; I just have a tendency to go into my reviews wondering whether the world will eat the music up or eat the band alive. So throughout this review I will try to answer whether or not I believe First Signs Of Frost will cover the great U.S. with their sparkly, chilly, delightful melodies, or simply melt away in the light of our immensely high energy music scene.
Right off the bat, I caught influences of what I would best describe as Lost Prophets mashed up with a more hetero version of Trapt. But don’t let that scare you away, because I believe these guys have a lot of potential and are very talented. Honestly, the CD is actually quite good. It carries plenty of solid riffs, nice melodies and has some really great hooks. Throughout the album, you can hear a lot of Ian Watkins (Lost Prophets) in Dan Tompkins’ vocals. Not implying a rip-off here, just a lot of similarities in both the melodies and harmonies. Tompkins definitely carries his own sound and style very well. I felt the Trapt influences more in some of guitar work in their opening riffs and choruses, but none of these are over-whelming, I’m just simply trying to help you get an idea of their sound.
As a whole, the entire record is not a bad listen. The songs are super catchy, and the guys hold a great momentum the whole time. The recording quality is high and the band has a great sound. Tompkins shows his teeth in a couple songs, letting his demons out in the form of a pretty decent battle cry. Overall though, First Signs Of Frost offer, like I said, a very mainstream, radio friendly sound that should help to get them noticed in the music community.
A couple of stand out tracks would have to be “Wire Form” and “Expert in Trickery.” I really like the guitar work on “Wire Forms,” and Tompkins’ vocal harmonies are pretty solid. “Expert in Trickery” is one of those songs where you get to hear the dark side of Owen. It starts off with a nice blood curdling cry and some heavy riffs, and then they throw in a nice, big chorus to soften the blow.
They slow it down with a nice ballad called “Atlantic” where Tompkins’ crooning is hypnotic, and the piano score throughout is very calming to the senses. I think it’s a decent chill-out song. Hop in a bubble bath and crank it up! Not too loud, though, because the next track will have you making your own bubbles if you’re not prepared for it. Probably the loudest, heaviest song on the album is next in line, and I must say I enjoyed the sudden shift. “Sing, Sing Ain’t My Style” is not for the faint of heart. This track is chock full of nasty, screaming, choppy riffs and breakdowns. Straight up Static-X style, and a good song!
Like I said, this is a solid record that is very easy on the ears. Is it the must have record of 2010? I don’t know, but, it wouldn’t hurt to give it a listen. I don’t think these guys are breaking any new ground, but they have developed a good sound. I believe, pending a lot of hard work and dedication, they have the means to make an impact on the music scene. How big that impact is, I don’t know. I think they sound a lot like the Lost Prophets and although I am a fan of that band, they didn’t make it too far in the musical community. As for First Signs Of Frost, who knows, they might make it big. As for now, give Atlantic a spin and tell me what you think.
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2 Comments
January 7th, 2010 at 9:27 am
Great album, I don’t get the comparisons with Static-X or Trapt but Lostprophets isnt too far away. I would also add in early Funeral For A Friend. Whilst you’re right about the mainstream sound the production gives (this aspect of their sound will help liken them with modern post-hardcore bands) I do feel you’ve failed to mention the mind stopping technicality of the album. Pumelling riffs, intricate time-signatures along with expert musicaianship give First Signs of Frost a unique edge.
Nick
January 7th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
fair enough, i don’t disagree, they are talented musicians.