Frozen Soul proves no hell can stop them at the Bottleneck Saturday night

July 15, 2024

Nick Spacek,

Frozen Soul. // photo by Nick Spacek

Frozen Soul w/ Creeping Death, Gates to Hell, and Enforced
The Bottleneck
Saturday, July 13

Walking in just a little after 6 with opener Enforced already halfway through their opening song, my first thoughts Saturday night were simultaneously. Oh, they’re running a tight schedule tonight and, fuck, that’s a lotta people.

Seems an all-ages matinee show on a Saturday is a great way to draw a crowd.

Rarely do you ever see a show packed from first note to last, but the metal faithful were exactly that this weekend. A constant crew packed the front of the stage, unwilling to give up their choice spots, and the only movement between bands was to hit the merch tables or grab some much-needed water. During sets, the smoking patio was near-empty, something of a rarity no matter who might be playing.

Frozen Soul’s lead singer uses a mic stand which looks like it’s made out of a piece of steel chain. That’s how metal they are. And, honestly, this review could end with that piece of information and you’d know just how fucking heavy this Texas band is.

The band rushed the stage to Van Halen’s “Running with the Devil.” They have a song about a circle pit which had a nonstop pit of the same name going the entire time—It was madness. The pit was a wailing maelstrom of physicality for the entirety of Frozen Soul’s set, and it was well-earned. The band’s no-frills death metal feels like it stepped out of a time machine from Florida in the mid ’90s, in the best possible way. This is sludgy, grimy, nasty metal that could break your nose without a sideways glance.

Touring in support of last year’s Glacial Domination, the band went through a whole bunch of shit to kick off their tour, of which this was the second date. On their way to Oklahoma City to kick off the tour, their van broke down, they had to rent a new one, and racked up something like $6,000 in rentals and repairs.

Despite all that mess in the midst of a heat wave, Frozen Soul played like they were trying to prove that nothing could stop them, and goddamn it felt good.

Creeping Death. // Photo by Nick Spacek

Texas’ Creeping Death are far more gritty live than on their latest album Boundless Domain. That record is an attack of riffs and a rhythmic assault, but live, the band attacks your senses in a way which feels like they’re going to leap off the stage and spear you through the floor. Maybe it was the ever-increasing humidity and heat from the sheer number of bodies packed in the club, moving as one. Maybe it was the volume pouring out of massive onstage amplification. Whatever it was, Creeping Death became something like a potential homicide by the time they stepped off stage.

Gates to Hell. // Photo by Nick Spacek

Louisville’s Gates to Hell played a set of tight, clean death metalcore. The sheer number of breakdowns they had going on should be illegal, and the energy the band had was unsurprising, given the youthful appearance of all five band members. The audience was appreciative, locking in from Gates to Hell’s first blast of sound, but it still felt like nobody was quite ready to let loose completely. Repeated requests from the stage for a circle pit never quite generated the energy one might’ve expected in response to what was coming from the stage, but the band never flagged and knocked out song after song, filled with deep grooves under all that aggression.

Enforced. // photo by Nick Spacek

Openers Enforced play a heavy version of thrash with just a hint of hardcore, familiar to anyone who’s listened to a single Anthrax or Power Trip song. Municipal Waste, though, is a better point of reference: party tunes for throwing the fuck down. The anger feels more like they can’t wait to drink beers, not kill your parents. Tight band, though, with sick riffs and a dynamic frontman who knows how to get the crowd moving without sounding like he’s an angry gym coach.

All photos by Nick Spacek:

Frozen Soul