Review by David on May 12, 2014.

Much like Blind Guardian, Rhapsody of Fire has been going through a period of irrelevance. Starting with the Symphony of Enchanted Lands II album they lost a spark of creativity and some of the vibrancy that made up their earlier work. A name change later and Triumph or Agony emerged; a lame duck release if ever there was one, it lacked anything truly notable leaving the impression that RoF had run their creative arc. Now aligned with Nuclear Blast, alongside the aforementioned German stalwarts, it is time to see if the band can get back on track.

On the first listen this album left a similarly underwhelming feeling as the previous couple of works; nothing really jumped out and demanded attention. At first this seems to be a troubling turn of events, but in hindsight the reason this album doesn't have that immediate feeling is that there are no real "standout" tracks by design.

The Frozen Tears of Angels still maintains that syrupy orchestration and overblown display of ability, but it is also a more developed overall work. Even though Crystal Moonlight could probably give Emerald Sword a run for its money, it is nestled neatly in amongst the other tracks and is consistent with its surroundings in terms of quality and development. The flow from track to track is finely executed and brings everything together in style.

The first song (Sea of Fate) seems a tidy summation of how consistently defined the whole album is; it doesn’t seem to have the expected burst and histrionics. However, closer inspection shows that really the bridging is a lot tidier and perhaps a little bit more subtle which makes the track feel more refined. Reign of Terror is a fascinating leap to the other end of the spectrum. Punctuated with choral outbursts, Fabio Leone’s use of rasped vocals, staccato powerchords and sudden lead flourishes… the persistent jagged edges of the track are a fun injection of aggression into the RoF sound. Even with this striking variation it feels consistent with the surrounding material and develops the involvement of the listener in the greater piece.

The only really jarring moments in the album are the transition from power ballad Lost in Cold Dreams to upbeat number On The Way to Einor – which is somewhat mitigated by the solemn passage after the initial riff dies away – and the introduction to the title track which tries to force drama in a ham-fisted manner. The former is understandable as it is only an awkward clash of approach, but the latter speaks to the tendency of the band to place their narrative concepts ahead of the music in places, which was evident on previous albums.

After repeated listens the quality of this album has really shone through; it is a work that has been finely crafted and really delivers on the symphonic element of RoF’s music in form and structure. The Frozen Tears of Angels represents a fine return to form for a band that seemed like it was wandering off into oblivion. It should also inform the narrator, Christopher Lee, as to what an actual symphonic metal album should aspire to.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Felix on May 30, 2019.

"Spill the dirty blood of Jesus"? Of course, this was exactly what I wanted to do today. Infernal War have funny ideas and they play a radical, enthusiastic and absolutely uncompromising form of black metal. The mix of brutal high-speed drumming, screaming guitars - solos from a sick brain not excluded - and restless shouting leads to a drastic attack against all that is holy, and it even boggles the mind of non-holy people like me. This is definitely no record for sensitive minds and the question must be allowed whether it makes sense to present nothing else but permanent machine gun fire. For sure, diversity can kill the power of an album, but usually an iota of diversity does not do much harm. Nevertheless, the guys from Poland have better things to do than to think about different approaches. They celebrate their fury in the slaughterhouse and love to butcher everyone in view.

It's a little bit confusing that the album does not spread the typical black metal vibrations. Instead, it has a certain punk touch. Instead of performing the totalitarian approach that dominates the ferocious side of the darkest sub-genre in general, Infernal War rather wallow in anarchic feelings. They destroy everything that could be described as music and from time to time they appear to me like spiritual brothers of Napalm Death. Believe me, it is not that easy to listen to the material from the beginning to the end, albeit no song suffers from obvious deficiencies. But the sheer brutality is somewhat tiring. The ultimate bombardment delivers an interesting facet, but only this facet and nothing else. Monotony on a high level, so to say - and don't ask me for highlights, because I cannot give you an answer. It's just an amazing bloodlust over 37 minutes.

The noisy production supports the mega-aggressive songs. I don't say that the mix suffers from imbalance, but it has a slightly annoying element. Whenever the formation decides to give full speed ahead (in one word: always), pure terror kills any kind of emotion and even the harshest way of proceeding should leave space for a minimum of feelings, right? We are still speaking about music and not about a mechanical mass production or something like that. Okay, the beginning of "Death's Evangelist" presents an unexpected leniency, but the band readjusts its arrangement immediately and everything goes right down into hell again. It is certainly an art in itself to fall victim to your own stubbornness without any cushioning. In addition, each and every song works and sets free an overdose of energy, radiation and devastation. Nevertheless, I wish the riffs would have more room to reveal their full potential. Be that as it may, if you want to listen to really f**king extreme metal, the technically competent Redesekration... should be your first choice.

Rating: 7 out of 10