Band:	Sirocco
Album:	March Through Crimson Frost
Style:	Folk metal, Heavy metal, Thrash metal
Release date:	August 2007

01. The March
02. Through Crimson Frost
03. Blood & Soil
04. Winter's Solstice
05. Dorchadas
06. At The Serpent's Stone
07. God's Salvation
08. Forsaken Shores

Despite what the cover art might be telling you, The March Through Crimson Frost is actually not a folk, but a thrash metal album. With that question out of the way, we can look at a more important one, is it actually any good? Unfortunately the answer will have to be 'not really'. The drumming is mostly weak and completely unspectacular, while the guitar work is actually really solid, although watered down by melodic sections and melodies trying to shove some pagan into the album. Vocal-wise the band presents someone trying his very best to sound like the early James Hetfield, he too sounds too weak though.

I suppose the album isn't really bad, it has its merits. But it's not really good either, and I'm sure you'll all agree that not really good either just doesn't cut it anymore. Some of their solos are really good, I'll give the Irishmen that, also infusing their thrash with a little bit of folk is interesting, but it's not enough and it certainly doesn't make up for the lack of memorable songwriting.

The band has a couple of good ideas and their musicianship isn't very off either, so I don't have difficulties believing that they could pull their act together and release a good album. But they'll definitely have to step it up a notch for something like that to happen.