Hell Frost

Hell Frost is the debut album by The Unguided. The album was released on November 30, 2011 through Despotz Records and was produced by Jonas Kjellgren. The album has been described by singer Richard Sjunnesson as a lyrical sequel to Eden Fire by Sonic Syndicate, their former band.

Hell Frost
Studio album by
The Unguided
ReleasedNovember 30, 2011
RecordedApril–November 2011
GenreMelodic death metal
Alternative metal
Metalcore
Power metal
Length44:52 (Standard version)
LabelDespotz Records
ProducerJonas Kjellgren
The Unguided chronology
Hell Frost
(2011)		 Hell Frost: The Ultimate Collection
(2012)

Writing and recording

Prior to the release of Hell Frost the band released an EP including the two tracks "Green Eyed Demon" and "Pathfinder", which were re-recorded for the album.

On April 28, 2011, the band announced that pre-production of their debut album had officially begun. They also revealed that Jonas Kjellgren also would be producing the album and that The Unguided had signed a deal with Despotz Records to release and distribute it. In June 2011, The Unguided officially began recording their debut album.[1]

On October 3, Despotz Records announced that the recording, mixing and mastering of Hell Frost was completed.[2] On October 25, it was announced that 12 tracks were made for the album, but only 11 tracks made it to the album due to The Unguided wanting to get the album faster out instead of delaying it further, seeing how it was supposed to be released in the summer of 2011. On November 30, Hell Frost was released.

Besides Peter Tägtgren, there are no guest singers on the album. The Unguided confirmed that Mikael Stanne (Dark Tranquillity), Whiplasher Bernadotte (Deathstars), Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian), and Christoffer Andersson (Dead by April) agreed to record guest vocals, but not for Hell Frost due to its release date. Richard, however, hopes to include them when they record their next album.[3]

Release and promotion

On June 16, 2011, without any official announcement The Unguided released their debut single "Betrayer of the Code". "Betrayer of the Code" was originally written by Roger and Richard when they still played in Fallen Angels. The artwork for the single was made by Jose A. Aranguren, the same person who made the artwork for the Sonic Syndicate album Eden Fire and the alternative version of Nightmareland.

On October 3, the artwork and title of their debut album Hell Frost was revealed at 616. The artwork was done by Kuang Hong, the same person who made the artwork for Nightmareland. The layout and booklet design was made by Gustavo Sazes.[4]

On October 8, it was revealed to be "Tankens Mirakel" by the Swedish EBM duo Spark. The song has been translated into English and will appear on the album with the title "The Miracle of Mind". It will be the JakeBox exclusive bonus track for Hell Frost.[5] On October 11 the Swedish radio station Bandit Rock premiered the song "Inherit the Earth", a preview of the song had been played the day before as well.[6]

On October 25, it was announced that "Inherit the Earth" would be the lead single off the album. "Phoenix Down" was originally intended as the lead single. The artwork for the single was made by Jose A. Aranguren.[3]

On November 18, Richard posted the following on his blog: "The song we decided to visualize was “Phoenix Down”. It’s a dynamic and fairly accessible song, which we felt would represent the band in a good way as an introduction video. Also it has been one of the fan favorites in our live set as far as we could tell".

Style and composition

According to singer Richard Sjunnesson, the music played by The Unguided is the music that used to be played by their old band Sonic Syndicate till they changed into mainstream metal/rock. He has described the album as a sequel to the Sonic Syndicate debut album Eden Fire, which is majorly considered the heaviest record written by Sonic Syndicate.[7]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic
Powermetal4ever.de
Joyzine.se
The Metal Critic(7.9/10)[8]

Following its digital release on October 23, 2011, the album received generally positive reviews, with Simon Pettersen of Sputnikmusic stating: "If this was a Sonic Syndicate album, it would’ve been their best, but fact is… It is not."[9] Pettersen finished his review stating: "All in all, Hell Frost is the best album made by any of these musicians. It is truly a masterpiece worth picking up. I don’t have any complains [sic] about this album. I hoped for screaming by Roland, and possibly a ballad, but what I got was far better. Even if you didn’t like Sonic Syndicate, The Unguided might just change your mind."

Track listing

All tracks composed by Roger Sjunnesson & Roland Johansson. All lyrics written by Richard Sjunnesson.

No.TitleLength
1."Inherit the Earth"4:46
2."Phoenix Down"3:33
3."Betrayer of the Code"5:05
4."My Own Death"4:01
5."Serenade of Guilt"4:33
6."Collapse My Dream"4:15
7."Green Eyed Demon"4:23
8."Iceheart Fragment"4:29
9."Pathfinder"4:44
10."Where the Frost Rose Withers"5:03
Bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."The Miracle of Mind (Spark! cover)" 

Background
  • "Inherith the Earth" was originally written by Fallen Angels on their debut EP Fall from Heaven. The original song was composed by Roger Sjunnesson and written by Richard Sjunnesson.
  • "Phoenix Down" was originally written by Sonic Syndicate for their EP Burn This City, but was never used. The original song was composed by Roger Sjunnesson and written by Richard Sjunnesson.
  • "Betrayer of the Code" was originally written by Fallen Angels on their debut EP Fall from Heaven. The original song was composed by Roger Sjunnesson and written by Richard Sjunnesson. The re-recording of the song was first released as a single version, which featured alternate keyboards.
  • "Green Eyed Demon" was originally released on The Unguided debut EP Nightmareland. The EP version featured alternate drums and keyboards.
  • "Iceheart Fragment" was originally written by Sonic Syndicate for their EP Burn This City, but was never used. The song original song was called "Assassination of a Martyr" and was composed by Roger Sjunnesson and written by Richard Sjunnesson.
  • "Pathfinder" was originally released on The Unguided debut EP Nightmareland. The EP version featured alternate drums and keyboards.
  • "The Miracle of Mind" was originally written by Spark!

Personnel
The Unguided
  • Richard Sjunnesson - harsh vocals
  • Roland Johansson - clean vocals, lead guitar
  • Roger Sjunnesson - rhythm guitar, keyboards
Session musicians
Other
Production
  • Produced, mixed and engineered by Jonas Kjellgren
  • Artwork by Kuang Hong
  • Artwork layout design by Gustavo Sazes
  • Additional artwork by Jose A. Aranguren

References
  1. http://richardsjunnesson.blogg.se/2011/april/utkast-april-28-2011.html
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-12-27. Retrieved 2011-10-15.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. http://richardsjunnesson.blogg.se/2011/october/meet-us-at-the-darkside.html
  4. http://www.sixonesix.se/
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-04-06. Retrieved 2011-10-15.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Unguided/164602083561372
  7. http://www.richardsjunnesson.blogg.se
  8. "The Metal Critic: The Unguided - Hell Frost". The Metal Critic. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  9. Pettersen, Simon. "The Unguided - Hell Frost Review". Sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-11-23.
  1. Fill-in drummer who became an official member shortly after release
  2. Fill-in bassist who became an official member shortly after release, but did not participate on the album
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