When I think back to my time in junior college and my trips to Bedrock City in Houston, I always remember hunting down some of the best comics I could find. Yes, I’m a total geek.
Without even realising it, I accidentally find myself reading Gail Simone’s Batgirl during the ‘Night of the Owls’ crossover while browsing Barnes & Noble, and around the same time I picked up another issue of PROG Magazine back in 2012 when Jethro Tull was celebrating its 40th anniversary with their magnum opus Thick as a Brick. Batgirl became my re-introduction back into comics, and to Gail Simone’s incredible work.
I often reflect on that period of my life. I still have those Batgirl issues, starting with the very first one, carefully stored away in a Ziploc bag. Whenever my mom picked me up after classes in the afternoon, I never imagined those simple moments would become memories I’d treasure years later.
Thinking about them still gets me emotional. They’re part of the reason I’m still here today, writing, reviewing, and returning to Simone’s New 52 run of Batgirl and Barbara Gordon’s triumphant return to the cowl. And yes, I’m proudly a Batgirl fan.
Now here I am, nearly headbanging my neck off while listening to Frozen Soul‘s latest album, No Place of Warmth, completely blown away by how this Fort Worth death metal powerhouse continues to kick ass and take names nearly a decade into their career.
Released through Century Media as the follow-up to 2023’s Glacial Domination, No Place of Warmth is a powder keg waiting to explode. The record erupts with unstoppable force, proving there’s absolutely no slowing down these death metal titans. Cross them, and they’ll flatten everything in their path, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Listening to No Place of Warmth drops you directly into the centre of an unforgiving snowstorm, like stepping into one of the brutal fantasy worlds featured in Heavy Metal magazine. With snarling Cookie Monster vocals, menacing riffs, relentless machine-gun drumming, and thunderous bass lines, Frozen Soul create a sonic blizzard unlike anything else. And if you’re expecting songs about Star Wars or some pretentious Star Trek fantasy, you’ve wandered into the wrong frozen wasteland.
Just how metal is this album? Very, very metal.
The guest appearances from Machine Head’s Rob Flynn, Sanguisugabogg’s Devin Swank, and My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way might seem like an unlikely combination on paper, but they fit together surprisingly well. The eerie synthesisers that open the title track slowly rise from the grave before exploding into towering guitars, tolling bells, and a wall of sound that feels like an avalanche crashing down the mountainside. As the engines begin to roar, the band unleashes snarling vocals, preparations for war, and enough gore-soaked imagery to satisfy the most devoted horror fan.
Then comes the unforgettable declaration, “I INVOKE WAR!” on the second track. It crashes into you like a battering ram, setting the stage for the bloodbath that’s about to unfold. You can almost picture yourself flipping through the pages of Heavy Metal magazine, watching Taarna or Gladiatrix battle impossible odds while Frozen Soul provides the perfect soundtrack to the carnage. Rob Flynn’s contribution only amplifies the sheer destruction.
The horror atmosphere behind ‘Dreadnought’ almost transports you back to Tobe Hooper’s 1974 classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Yet the song never loses its crushing momentum, seamlessly leading into ‘Chaos Will Reign’. Here, the double bass drums fire away like machine guns, one of my favourite techniques in death metal. It’s relentless, violent, and gloriously over-the-top, exactly the kind of sonic assault that’s bound to make televangelists clutch their pearls.
‘Eyes of Despair’ channels the spirit of 1980s thrash while embracing old-school death metal. Imagine Metallica, Venom, VOIVOD, Darkthrone, and Slayer thrown into one massive blender, producing a scorching cocktail of blistering riffs, ferocious vocals, crushing percussion, and nightmare-inducing atmosphere.
‘Ethereal Dreams’ briefly recalls the primal rhythmic intensity of Igor Stravinsky’s ‘The Rite of Spring’ before erupting into absolute chaos. The chainsaw-like guitars slice through the mix as the band launches into an all-out assault that practically demands listeners dive into the mosh pit, bang their heads, and keep the energy alive until sunrise.
Closing the album is the brilliantly titled ‘Killin’ Time (Until It’s Time to Kill)’, which charges into battle with the aggression of Slayer and Voivod while maintaining Frozen Soul’s own unmistakable identity. It’s armed with barbed wire, chainsaws, armoured trucks, and enough firepower to level a city block.
It’s easy to imagine this song accompanying an animated adaptation of Heavy Metal magazine’s character Gladiatrix, capturing the spirit of the 1981 cult classic while pushing everything into blood-soaked, R-rated animated territory. It’s the kind of unapologetic metal anthem that gleefully flips the corporate falsetto mouse from Disney, the biggest middle finger imaginable.
In the end, No Place of Warmth is Frozen Soul firing a cannon straight into the heart of 2026. This isn’t an album for the faint of heart, it’s a relentless display of death metal at its most confident, crushing, and uncompromising. Once you press play, there’s no escape. Frozen Soul locks the doors behind you, buries you beneath an avalanche of riffs, and refuses to let go until the final note fades into silence.
Like David Bowie’s famous instruction from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, this is an album that demands to be played at maximum volume. Turn it up, embrace the cold, and let Frozen Soul freeze everything in its path.
