Grabunhold - Frostheim (2026) Review

I remember anticipating Heldentod eagerly in 2021, due to the great impression I had of German outlet Grabunhold from their 2019 EP, Unter dem Banner der Toten. The debut album proved remarkable, and the band continued on a positive note with 2023's split release with Circle of Shadows, slowly drafting their own continuous landscape of Tolkien-inspired, triumphant and vigorous black metal. Half a decade after the first album, Frostheim is still characterized by mystique of the old world, winter imagery, and a higher than average aptitude for guitar-fronted melancholy in darkness buried deep, beyond all towers strong and high, beyond all mountains steep.

As with the very first demo and all that followed since, everything is in strict black and white fashion. Frostheim has a slightly cleaner sound than its predecessor, but the general approach has not deviated much from what Grabunhold has been doing so far. The record is radiant and filled with energetic riffing in its entirety, giving out a strong feeling of pagan black metal that reminds me of other German bands like Odal, or Ulfsdalir (but quite more polished). One may ultimately find the compositional source of inspiration in older legends like Windir, and whoever enjoys this work should definitely search for Vampyric Tyrant, a project by a previous member of Grabunhold.

Frostheim opens with "Der Tod wohnt in Carn Dûm", and a wistful clean guitar melody that quickly dives into a set of boisterous riffs, the first one weirdly reminding me of a motif I still remember from Akitsa's "Espoir Vassal" from Credo (2018). Of a similar mood and sprightly character is "Grambergers Fluch", which also constantly has guitar lines in the forefront, grounded in steady tremolo that runs rampant across the whole album. Third track "Der Mondturm" starts with might and main, but then undergoes a slower, quite more woeful mid-to-end section, that stood out to me alongside the echoing clean chord middle part of the next piece, "Rerirs blauer Schatten".

The only instance of divergence comes on "Über Grat und kalten Gipfel", a straight-up magnific dungeon synth track, and a nice intimation of Grabunhold's talent in this kind of instrumental music. Frankly, if they ever decide to put their heads on a pure DS mini-album, we'd be down for it. Frostheim gets lightly more assertive on the faster and more tense parts of "Schreckenszauber", and especially "In Mordor, wo die Schatten drohn". The last track "Eärnurs Verderben" runs at eight minutes and is the longest in duration, full of radiant, just about joyful melodies that stay on repeat until the record ends.

Sticking to the German language, the band's lyrical themes remain strongly tied to the world of Tolkien, and there are Lord of the Rings references everywhere. This, combined with an engaging musical framework of aboveboard black metal, makes Frostheim a clearly admirable listen. Personally, I would have welcomed some slightly bolder drumming here and there, or a broader variation across the general arrangements, but that's just Grabunhold not overcomplicating things by choice. One of the albums I'll be returning to this year whenever in the mood for black metal of impetus and fantasy.

Release: June 5th, 2026 | Iron Bonehead Productions
Website: Facebook
Rating: 4 out of 5