Frightful delivers one of the most destructive and refreshing listens in their 2021 debut album Spectral Creator. Formed in 2016 from Gdansk, Poland Frightful has had a busy 5 years between forming and honing their brand of Death and Thrash metal. Evolving and adding a layer of technicality pushes the sound in a different direction than early transitional bands between the thrash and death eras such as Municipal Waste.
Starting with Astral Freeze, Spectral Creator starts with the energy at a fever pitch, the thrashing riffs with restrained frayed vocals and punishing drum work tie together to deliver an awesome arrangement. Displaying their technical mastery and not letting up through the entirety of the album only allows you to catch your breath in a transitional passage mid-listen through the album. On ‘Breaking the Twightlight’, the soft transitional passage slowly fades to allow a progressive and building trash instrumental track. While probably one of the weaker tracks to leave as an instrumental not evolving much out of its main riff and lacking dynamics present in other tracks, it’s still a cut above a majority of tracks coming out within the same domain. However, seeing the whole track as a reprieve from the tracklist’s constant complex riffs and punishing speed adds to the experience of the album. The following tracks ‘Crimson Dawn’ and ‘Those Who Burns for Might’ is especially complex and layered and with Crimson Dawn more overtly incorporating elements of doom metal.
The closing track Spectral Creator maintains course while upping the intensity. Emphasizing everything I love about this album. The song structures, intricate riffs, frayed screams, and dynamic drum and bass work. Leading to a supremely textured Death/Thrash metal that delivers beyond expectation. Frightful’s ‘Spectral Creator’ coming in at 46 minutes is a relentless joy and I encourage everyone to give it a listen!
Frightful : Facebook
Release Year: 2021
Label: Awakening Records
Category: Album
Country: Poland
Reviewed by Jhai Bartley
