Mastermind Gorgor seems fluent enough in English, but is especially adept at cliché -- every single aspect, from oh-so-creepy intro of howling wolves, a supposedly ominous arpeggio and trickling water, through to the recycled Darkthrone riffs, induces a strong sense of déjà vu. Even the band name rendered in a gothic font and titles such as "In the Name of Eternal Darkness" and "Lost in the Valley of Death" resound with cliché. There is absolutely nothing wrong with raw black metal, but there is little point in constructing something that adds nothing and is merely a retread of what has been done many times before and with more panache.

The bonus tracks are rawer, with a drawn out jangly sound that is superficially less derivative than the production of his latter demo, but a few listens quickly confirm that the same tired approach informs this work.

It may be that The Frost is simply at an early sage of his career and is still finding his sound. I am prepared to concede that point -- but that doesn't alter this by-the-numbers take on black metal one bit.