Let’s face it: I’ve got a refined taste in music. Progressive rock, jazz, krautrock, electronic music, avant-garde, and, of course, metal. Metal has been running through my veins since I was a kid. Why do you think I still carry Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Iron Maiden, the Lemmy-era of Hawkwind, and Voivod on my iPod Touch? Because they were the soundtrack of my life throughout the late ’90s, the 2000s, and the 2010s.
After revisiting BangerTV’s Metal Monthly for July of this year, the episode that introduced me to the world of Coffin Hunters, I stumbled upon a band that hit me like a powder keg exploding right in front of my face. Here was a band carrying the Bay Area thrash metal torch while blending death metal, progressive metal, and traditional heavy metal into one devastating assault.
That band is Frolic.
Hailing from Hayward, California, Frolic throws all of those influences into one scorching, high-octane smoothie, served fresh and guaranteed to melt your face off. They’re the kind of band that refuses to back down without a fight. Over the last twelve years, they’ve released an EP, a live album, and their 2022 debut, Fusion of Spirits.
Now they’re back with their latest release, Legacies of Cybernetica. And let me tell you, this thing is heavy. Skull-crushing. Blistering. It’s the kind of metal that instantly reminded me of the first time I heard Voivod after buying the Noise reissues of Dimension Hatröss, Killing Technology, and Rrröööaaarrr from The Laser’s Edge nearly a decade ago.
But back to Frolic.
The moment I fired this album up on my iPod Touch and put my headphones on, I felt like I was flipping through the latest issue of Heavy Metal magazine. These songs sound like they could have been written as the soundtrack to Taarna herself from the 1981 cult animated classic. Frolic clearly know their science-fiction inside and out.
And no, I’m not talking about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the corporate falsetto mouse machine that has spent years watering down the legacies of Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Stan “The Man” Lee. I’m talking about vicious, snarling vocals, chainsaw-sharp guitar attacks, and machine-gun drumming that pounds your eardrums into submission. As HUNTR/X says in KPop Demon Hunters, Frolic show everyone else how it’s done, done, done!
I’m not making this shit up. Frolic absolutely floored me.
From the moment the opening title track begins with its finger-twisting guitar work, militant drumming, and razor-sharp riffs, you know all bets are off. The blistering speed attack demands nonstop headbanging while practically inviting circle pits, gang chants, and complete mayhem. It feels like being thrown straight back into the golden age of ’80s thrash and death metal.
Yes, it’s fast. Ridiculously fast.
My jaw hit the floor as the quartet launched into battle without a shred of apology. Lenny “Real Steel” Ramirez tears through incredible guitar runs with effortless precision, while Edgar Sanchez transforms into an absolute monster. Not Marvel’s Hulk, a far nastier beast that looks ready to devour everything in sight. To borrow George Carlin’s description from his 1996 HBO special Back in Town, he sounds like “a Wolverine who’s high on angel dust!”
Sanchez’s vocals snarl, bite, and tear flesh alongside the relentless performances of Kufeld and Post as they charge into battle. The closing section of the opener recalls Metallica during the Ride the Lightning era, almost as if it picks up where ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ left off before seamlessly transitioning into Kufeld’s thunderous bass introduction on ‘Living in Virtuality’. You can practically feel the spirits of Cliff Burton and Voivod’s Jean-Yves “Blacky” Thériault standing behind him, keeping the true spirit of metal alive.
Then there’s Sanchez’s vocal performance on ‘A Shattered Soul’: “VOID, THAT NEVER HEALS / A SHATTERED SOUL / THE ENDLESS WEIGHT / DESTROYED ALL HOPE IS GONE / ONLY THE STRONG / CAN SAVE THEIR FATE!”
He absolutely tears into every word. I’m not kidding. Sanchez pours every ounce of his heart and soul into those lyrics. Once again, Frolic sound like they could have written the soundtrack to one of Heavy Metal magazine’s blood-soaked science fiction epics.
Then something unexpected happens. Wait a minute…are Frolic tipping their hats to Radiohead’s ‘Paranoid Android’? It sure sounds like it. It is! Holy shit in a handbag!
For a brief moment, the song drifts into an almost angelic atmosphere that echoes the spirit of OK Computer. Then, without warning, they slam the accelerator straight through the floor and plunge headfirst into the carnage of ‘Disasters of Experiments,’ unleashing absolute musical warfare.
‘Celestial Aventus’ is another monster that will have you headbanging twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Amid all the chaos, the song feels like the soundtrack to Taarna marching into another impossible battle. Massive gang chants, crushing Cookie Monster growls, relentless riffing, and moments bordering on Norwegian black metal insanity all collide into one glorious assault.
Compared to this, the pretentious garbage churned out by the Marvel Cinematic Universe deserves a swift kick in the balls, while the corporate mouse can enjoy the giant middle finger this album proudly throws in its direction. The closing track, ‘Blades of Revenge’, initially catches you off guard. Frolic briefly steps away from their relentless assault with a beautiful flamenco-inspired classical guitar introduction that serves as the calm after the storm.
It lasts only thirty-nine seconds before the band explodes back into action, unleashing soaring fretboard gymnastics and one final inferno that burns everything to the ground in spectacular fashion. What more can I say? Frolic are a band every metal fan should have on their radar.
Legacies of Cybernetica is a phenomenal second album and a massive wake-up call to a music industry that’s become far too comfortable playing it safe. While the mainstream keeps chasing trends and algorithms, Frolic are busy sharpening their riffs, pushing their musicianship, and proving that passion will always crush corporate mediocrity.
Album of the Year? Maybe. We’ll find out soon enough. But one thing’s for certain: Frolic have arrived, and if they keep making records like this, the rest of the metal world had better pay attention.
