Words by David C. Obenour
Heralded in the days before, Frozen Soul have awoken once again to release their latest reign of Glacial Domination (Century Media). Though based from the arid deserts of Texas, the sound that comes from studio and stage are of a new ice age. Working with production and songwriter help from Trivium’s Matt Heafy, along longstanding sixth member Daniel Schmuck, the classic sounds of death metal have been encased in the band’s reverential and reinvigorated approach. Mammoth riffs, pummeling beats, with no letting up, the cinematic vignettes captured between are a glimpse into a brave new world.
Off Shelf: You said you wanted Glacial Domination to touch on the classics of old school Death Metal. What about that sound in particular were you excited to explore and what inspired you to go after that?
Chad Green: We just love the way the older death metal bands hit! The raw energy and the movement in the music, some of the times with newer death metal throughout the 2000s some of the straight to the point power and energy is missing so we tried to hone in on that and keep it in what we were doing, even if we were in a really nice professional studio!
OS: Listening back to the recordings, are there moments that stand out for how you were able to put your own fingerprints on that sound?
CG: For us there are a lot of those moments, the chorus lead in Frozen Soul, the solo in invisible tormentor, the mid tempo double bass part in Arsenal, the list goes on because we really aimed our focus on doing that in every song.
OS: With performances possible again, are you learning anything new about the songs on Glacial Domination as you take them out in front of live audiences? Is there anything you’re experiencing that you think will further shape your sound moving forward?
CG: That’s always the case with playing new music, you find new ways or easier ways to do things you didn’t know were possible when writing or in the studio, I think as we play more of them it will just help us in the writing process for the next record!
OS: Co-produced by Trivium’s Matt Heafy, you talked about how Glacial Domination evolved into something you hadn’t expected it to be. How did Matt help bring out different sounds?
CG: Matt was a driving force in our level of confidence in ourselves, he helped us see that we can take risks and write music we love without fear of failure because as long as we love it then we know others will too! We cowrote the songs “Glacial Domination” and “Abominable” together and he was there through the whole process of pre production and virtually during the recording of the full record, Matt rules and is a great friend!
OS: Bringing back someone you’d worked with before, you also had Daniel Schmuck co-produce the album. Was his influence a grounding one or did it push into new dimensions of your sound too?
CG: Daniel is almost a sixth member of the band! I’ve been playing in bands, writing and recording with him since about 2010 so he knows how I like to do things and was in Frozen Soul in the beginning so he knows what we aim for! He helped with writing and his input was vital in this record, “Crypt of Ice” as well!
OS: The songs definitely flow together and make for a great experience of the album as a whole. Can you talk about how you sequenced Glacial Domination?
CG: We basically wanted the record as a whole to feel sort of like the soundtrack to a movie. We are huge synth fans so we worked with our friends James Loller of GOST and Eric Lauder from Plague Years to help us reach our visions! Daniel actually did Annihilation with Michael and I.
OS: Compared to an album, are there different considerations you have when planning out a setlist? What are you thinking about when planning the songs and order for an upcoming tour?
CG: We typically go based on what we know people want to hear and we also consider what we like the most and try to find something in the middle! Our goal is to keep the set fun all the way through, we want to keep the crowd engaged!
OS: “Arsenal of War” and “Death and Glory” both deal with the tragic loss of your younger brother. What emotions do you find yourself channeling while performing these songs night after night on tour?
CG: It’s honestly very therapeutic, at first it was hard but now it feels good to go out there and perform songs in honor of my brother. I always feel him with me that way and being out on the road for a long time never gets easier so it’s good to have him with me.
OS: Can you talk about some of the sampled sounds you’ve got throughout the album? What sort of mindspace are you trying to get the listener in by including them?
CG: For each song it’s different, some are meant to make you feel powerful, some scared and others like you can take on the world. We really wanted the record to have a range of emotions and that starts with the parts leading into songs! We cover a lot of topics in our music from adversity and depression to recovery and revenge.
OS: Other influences you’ve mentioned include Godzilla and John Carpenter’s The Thing. If you had an evening to get your friends into the best mind space to hear Glacial Domination – food, other music, art, movies, you name it – what would you do?
CG: I’d definitely get a ton of movie theater popcorn, crank the blue lights, fog machine and AC with the thing on repeat!