siLLy puPPy The hybridization of metal styles is hardly anything new of course as it seems once a subgenre is created, there’s always someone blurring the lines however every once in a while there is a band that springs up in a far fetched location and fuses together metal styles that nobody else had thought of and for better or for worse goes for it.

FROZEN WATER BURIAL was a short-lived band that was formed in Greenfield, CA in 2006 and only lasted until 2009. The band that consisted of Paul (vocals), Nick (guitar), Heath (guitar), Joe (bass), Martin (drums), Juan (keyboards) and Erica (keyboard, 2006) only ever released this one demo simply titled DEMO in 2006 before disbanding in 2009. Supposedly they reformed but no album has ever seen the light of day.

While only a demo there are still six tracks that make the 26 minute mark so this is more like an EP than a demo. The band has made a name for itself in the underground for being one of the few bands that have mixed deathcore and symphonic black metal. Basically the guitar riffing and musical procession adopts the aggressiveness and of deathcore while the keyboards add atmospheric backdrops and aggressive runs that often interact with the extreme metal bombast.

Despite the extreme caustic abrasiveness of the delivery of frenetic guitar riffs, bantering bass and speed drumming, the music revolves around easily digested melodic processions. The vocals are all over the place with death metal growls taking precedence but there are lots of call and response stylistic approaches with core styled pig squeals and blood curdling screams. There are also deep guttural grunts and a few other surprises that pop up.

While the deathcore elements are predominant, there are also moments when neoclassical style guitar solos rip it up. There are few traces of black metal really except for the symphonic aspects and some of the guitar tones so the term blackened deathcore may apply but if you ask me i’d probably call this symphonic deathcore or even experimental. Overall the musicianship is top notch. The tempos are soaring at fast speeds and the guitarist is outstanding.

This is one of those bands like Children of Bodom that will rub many the wrong way. For true death metal fans this will be too cheesy and melodic but for those who are open minded and have no expectations then this is actually a decent set of tracks. It’s too bad the band didn’t stick it out and craft a more adventures album that explored more sonic textures in the production process because it’s apparent that the musicians were onto something and had a developed sense of creativity. For a demo this isn’t bad at all and personally i kinda like it.