Band:	Byfrost
Album:	Of Death
Style:	Black metal, Thrash metal
Release date:	June 27, 2011
A review by:	Daniell

01. May The Dead Rise
02. Eye For An Eye
03. Buried Alive
04. Of Death
05. Full Force Rage
06. Shadow Of Fear
07. Sorgh
08. All Gods Are Gone

Damn it. Seriously, god dammit. Where in the name of all norse whores is my groove? It crossed the Byfrost and is now resting in Asgard? Or maybe Loki took it? After all he is the most mischievous deity in the lands where even boobs are cold and frostbitten. I loved Black Earth so much because, apart from being a great album through and through, it had shitloads of infectious, rocking groove. It was impossible to sit straight and listen to Byfrost's debut. Your head just had to bang. And now, on their sophomore effort, the groove is mostly gone. Of Death contains more black and less thrash. Slow tempos have been mostly replaced by fast tempos. So fast that the groove couldn't keep up and was left behind.

Fortunately, it's not bad. Byfrost is still Byfrost, with the same three people responsible for the music. So, if the debut rocked so hard, the follow-up can't be totally shoddy. Let me hasten to assure you - it's more than good. And since apparently Freyr and Gefjun blessed the band, we get Of Death only a year after the stellar Black Earth.

The two songs that definitely stand out, "Eye for an Eye" and "Buried Alive" happen to be the most reminiscent of the first album. Kvasir must have had a hand in their creation, no doubt. Glorious, catchy riffage, memorable choruses, these two songs have everything that a Byfrost fan needs. There's one more, and that one is actually the best here, "All Gods Are Gone", with fantastic riffs and varied tempos fueled by incessant double bass drumming, and an epic, grandiose ending. The remaining songs are slightly, but only slightly, worse. Minus the missing groove, there's nothing wrong with them - frantic fury, flaming frenzy, fuming flurry. And friggin' fun, to finish the "f" festival.

With Odin on their side, Byfrost have set sail for metal Valhalla. A few more albums of such quality, and their immortality in the halls of the gods will be assured.