I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: June 26, 2019] Frost Giant

Can you be epic in a tiny space?

If you are Philadelphia’s Frost Giant, the answer is hell yes!

I was supposed to see Frost Giant play with Arkona and Korpiklaani at the TLA, but the promoters put Frost Giant on before the start time of 8PM (!) and I missed their set entirely.

I have wanted to check them out, so when they were listed as playing the Foundry with Astronoid, I figured I’d go.  Even though I didn’t yet know Astronoid.

So I arrived early (just in case) and took my place in front of the stage when the band came out.

I was delighted by Armen Koroghlian’s intense drum kit and Matti Frost’s look.  And then I was impressed by their power.

The band played four songs, starting with the almost lead off track from their new album The Harlot Star.

I really liked the way Matti’s voice was clean while five-string bassist Brook Duer added some deep growly accents/harmonies to the vocals.

I was right up against the stage so the sound wasn’t quite as clear as I would have liked.  The actual words were a bit lost since I was in front of the vocal speakers.  But I could hear the guitar and violin perfectly.

Then they moved on to “Forgotten Grave” a ten minute epic with multiple parts, sick time changes and whiplash speed.  I loved the way lead guitarist Scott Breustedt and violinist Rachel Kolster traded off on leads.  Breudtedt’s soloing was top notch–lots of killer shredding.

Kolster’s violin was an excellent addition to the music.  She added trills and soaring leads while everyone else was shredding or playing heavy chords.  She also played some excellent solos.

They played “Of Clarity and Regret” a song that thrives on heavy chords, double bass drums and very clean vocals.  The middle has a cool shouting section that the two vocalists joined together on.

Like the other songs, it didn’t sound all that much like the recording.  The record is heavy but it also has various subtitles on it (and no violin).  But live this band is oversized and intense.  The guitars are heavier, the growling vocals are more powerful and the drums are huge.

Armen Koroghlian was a beast behind that kit–which is made of metal supports for a reason, obviously.

Matti Frost is a terrific front man.  He is engaging and funny, acknowledge the crowd and being generally fun to watch.

He told us they had only one song left and I was a little bummed that their set would be quite so short.  But that last song “Monuments to Nothing” was nearly ten minutes long.

It starts with a terrific riff and some great chord progressions.  The song turns epic with the choral chanting following along the line of the riff.  And it just seems to get bigger and bigger from there.

The band seemed to be having a great time and I think they won over everyone in the room.

Great stuff–they need a bigger stage!

 

SETLIST (all tracks from 2018’s The Harlot Star)
Forgive Me Not
Forgotten Grave
Of Clarity and Regret
Monuments to Nothing

Matti Frost – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Scott Breustedt – rhythm and lead guitars
Brook Duer- bass, backing vocals
Armen Koroghlian- drums & chimes
Rachel Kolster – violin and awesomeness