On Thursday, September 6th, 2010, Auckland, NZ Heavy Progressive Alternative Rock Group Frozen Alice released their debut album, The Torino Scale. The group released their self-titled Promo in 2009 to promote three songs “Qadesh”, “Driven Only By Will”, and “Red Arrows” which would eventually be featured on their debut. They were once a band known as Remains of a Day in 2004, before they briefly broke up and then reunited under the name of Frozen Alice in 2009 with a new bass guitar player. They describe their Progressive Rock style as “Bipolar Rock” emulating lead vocalist Mark Tronson’s ability to switch from melodic singing to aggressive shouts or screams in the flick of a second.
Their first three songs are amazing songs to start this album off. The opening track, “Everyday”, is an aggressive and powerful Proggy Alternative Metal opener that will really get you headbanging and engaged. Especially with Tronson’s ability to switch the vocal styles between the quiet melodies and the loud screams almost in an instant. The second track, “Qadesh”, is a great Artsy and Proggy Alternative Rock track that reminds me of A Perfect Circle stylistically, but it is very distinct at the same time. The moody vocal melodies on this track are just beautiful, and I have always felt that this track would be more on the radio, given its appeal! The third track, “Mother”, is an awesome epic, moody, and dark Progressive Alternative/Alternative Metal track that reminds of Oceansize’s “The Charm Offensive” from Everyone Into Position in the sense of them both starting off with a psychedelic intro, next with the moody vocals, then the Alternative Metal drumming and instrumentation later on, and lastly they both end with the powerful screams at end the song. Tronson’s vocals are super powerful on this song, as he goes from the moody Alternative Rock style of singing to those crushing whispered vocals and screams. The fourth track, “Waiting to Be Dead”, is a very eerie and ominous Dark Ambient and Spoken Word, interlude that features a very interesting message. I feel like it is something that would be played on a movie soundtrack.
Their next three songs after the first interlude are all amazing songs continue the album. The fifth track “Driven Only by Will” is a haunting Proggy Alternative Metal track that features emotionally dark and essential lyrics, powerful instrumentation especially with the drumming, and Tronson’s vocal delivery being second to none! Especially with lyrics such as “I am the imagination of myself” and later on “I thought my imagination was vast, so much more in this conciseness”. The sixth track “Ethics Of The Tribe” is an excellent Artsy and Proggy Alternative Rock that reminds me lots of something that would be on Thirty Seconds to Mars self-titled and debut album 30 Seconds to Mars given its spacey sound and due to the fact that Tronson sounds similar to Jared Leto vocals wise on the track but it is less Alternative Metal than that album is overall. The seventh track, “Red Arrows”, is a great Progressive Alternative Metal/Heavy Alternative track that reminds me of Deftones, specifically their track “Change (In the House of Flies)” from White Pony minus the Prog part. The shoegaze influence on this track is and the chorus sounds of this track sounds kind of similar to the chorus for “Change (In the House of Flies)” while being a unique song on its own.
The eighth track, “Jamie” is a short and beautiful Post-Rock, Ambient, and Spoken Word interlude track that sounds really peaceful and soothing to balance the musical and emotional intensity that had been happening the last three tracks. The nineth track, “Elysian”, is an amazing Spacey and Artsy Progressive Alternative Rock track that reminds me of something that I would hear from Muse’s Origin of Symmetry, A Perfect Circle’s Thirteenth Step, and possibly Oceansize too but it really stands out on its own with its unique melancholic qualities. This is definitely the saddest sounding song on the album in general being a slower and spacey song with Tronson singing lyrics such as “…because I’m not broken” really shows the true emotion and power behind the song. The album closer “Sex Song” is an amazing Progressive and Artsy Alternative Rock song to finish up the album as it balances the mellower sections with the more metallic instrumentation that come during the chorus.
Overview: This album is a 9.5/10 or 4.75/5, due to a combination of Frozen Alice’s incredibly versatile vocal range and melodies, complex and innovative instrumentation, powerful riffing, and lastly for their strong atmosphere.
Track List:
Everyday - 3:57
Qadesh - 5:15
Mother - 8:28
Waiting To Be Dead - 1:30
Driven Only By Will - 5:02
Ethics Of The Tribe - 4:27
Red Arrows - 5:07
Jamie - 1:05
Elysian - 5:57
Sex Song - 5:56
Total Length: 46:45
Favorite Tracks: “Everyday”, “Qadesh” “Mother”, “Driven Only By Will”, “Ethics Of The Tribe”, “Red Arrows”, and “Elysian”
Least Favorite Tracks: None
Recommended For: Fans of Proggy Heavy Alternative/Alternative Metal groups in general, especially Karnivool, A Perfect Circle (first two albums), Rishloo, The Butterfly Effect, Oceansize, and Tool.
Have an opposing viewpoint to this opinion? Let us know. All views are welcome. Send your thoughts to our Editorial Staff – Editor Thomas Szot tszot@student.dean.edu or Dean Daily Faculty Advisor, Professor John Rooke jrooke@dean.edu
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