King Fear are the brain child of guitar player Mål Dæth. After he wrote some stuff that differed from his main project, Bullbar, he recruited Eisenvater’s Johannes Bonnin and Negator / Dark Funeral frontman Nachtgarm to take part of the finalisation of the new material he created. It resulted in a self-called EP, which got reviewed by undersigned with the benefit of doubt (see update in September 2012).
Mål Dæth (g, b, music and lyrics), Nachtgarm (v) and BoneInn (d) recorded their first full studio album Frostbite, which has a total running time of 33:37 minutes, once again helped out by Olman Viper (mix and mastering, as well as co-production; the main production was in hands of Mål Dæth himself). The eight-tracker goes on in the vein of the 2012-EP King Fear, but it slightly satisfies the doubts I did have back then. I did miss some persuasion and conviction; call it a joy-to-perform that was inferior to the qualities of the final result. That’s better this time, even though I am still craving for more, considering the ‘huge’ names of the members involved. But anyway, in comparison to last year’s record, Frostbite did ‘grow’ on different angles. First of all the structures and song writing in general. It sounds like last year’s stuff, but with a more intelligent, technical-increased performance. The EP brought very technically performed material for sure, but this time the finalisation is less forced and much more natural and persuasive. Besides, the average quality of the individual songs did better too. I missed a certain own identity before, and the lack of that own-faced identity was a minor detail. With Frostbite, King Fear pisses on mediocrity. No, it does not mean that this act is the most renewing or original one ever; at all / on the contrary. I just want to make sure you notice the difference in between both efforts. Another positive evolution is the total cohesion. This time, the whole album sounds as ‘a whole album’. The songs do not all sound alike, but there is a coherence one cannot ignore.
Do all those positive elements mean that Frostbite is a killer-release? Unfortunately they do not. Despite the growth, I still do expect more, much more, from such experienced musicians. Of course they do not need to be ‘original’; if you’re able to exploit a certain specific genre without being original, yet with superior material, you catch my attention. In this case I am afraid that the individual details, as well as the complete package, won’t ‘remain’. There are no tracks that are ‘just outstanding’, there is no feeling of any ‘wow-effect’; I still wonder what the future will bring for this band. I gave them the benefit of doubt with their debut-EP, and I am still so kind to do so this time. But I do surely hope to enjoy their next effort, in case there will be one, and embrace it with spikes and broken glass, just for the pleasure of it.