Frostwinter is an artist I have followed for some time now, via myspace and last.fm. The project is the brainchild of André B, aka Wolf Hour, a mysterious creature whose music is informed by animal rights activism and a wide range of philosophers. This interest in philosophy comes across quite clearly in the track titles, with Geistloser Wille and Something about Amorality being particularily potent.Frostwinter is eceptionally atmospheric and manages to paint an incredibly bleak picture of contemporary human civilization, without presenting a simple sollution to the listener. The voice samples create an aura of desperation which is further strengthened by the indistrual soundscapes with their emphasis on isolation and despair. These terms are of course clichés in this particular genre, but nonetheless describe Frostwinter's music perfectly.
Frostwinter's second album, The Hour of Decline, fits into this picture neatly, and is a conceptual package of some talent. The cover contains an image of an old fashioned alarm clock positioned among a pile of human skulls, with a blurred axe coming down in the background. It is the perfect cover for this music. Frostwinter does not only observe the hour of decline, but wants to smash humanity into little pieces. The music on the album becomes shards of human achievements against a backdrop of futility.
The tracks on the album are like mercury – solid but fluent, and with an attractive and shiny surface. Like mercury the tracks are also poisonous, and should be served generously to the public. In this day of affected and misunderstood claims of misanthropy it is simply a delight to hear Frostwinter's music with its very real misgivings against humanity. Let us join with Frostwinter and pray for extinction.
The album can be ordered via either Frostwinter's myspace page below.
Tracks:
1 Geistloster Wille
2 Il N'y a Aucun Progrès
3 Revolution ist Krankheitskraft
4 Vivisection Chamber
5 Something about Amorality
6 Ressentiment
7 Praying for Extinction
8 Jene Anthropofugale Notwendigkeit
9 One Day Without Existence
10 Wound of Dasein
11 Pour L'Eternite
12 Wolves amongst the Ruins
13 Epilogue (from beyond)
Germany, 2010, Circumanalis Records
http://www.myspace.com/frostwinter
http://nistavilo.net/circumanalis/
