Revolver has teamed with Frozen Soul for an exclusive, limited-edition "Baby Blue" vinyl variant of their Century Media debut, Crypt of Ice. Quantities are limited — so get yours before they're gone!
There are so many bands out there doing so many interesting things, it's hard to know where to turn. That's why we've created Crash Course, a recurring feature offering a concise introduction to a band or artist that we think slays, covering their origins, process and vision. Our latest subject is Frozen Soul, a new outfit from Dallas, Texas, that — befitting its name — delivers a particularly cold take on classic death metal as heard on their Century Media debut, Crypt of Ice. Frozen Soul might have only played their first gig in early 2019, but their fierce and theatrical take on death metal has already earned them accolades and prime spots opening for Blood Incantation, Plague Years, Gatecreeper, Exhumed, Vader and personal heroes Obituary. Below, we caught up with singer Chad Green to find what out what makes Frozen Soul tick.
WHO ARE FROZEN SOUL?
CHAD GREEN We are a death-metal band from cold side of Texas! Michael [Munday] our guitar player and myself started Frozen Soul back in 2016 after meeting at one of our local comic and Magic: The Gathering stores but had to put it on hold until sometime in 2018. We were recording for our other band, End Times, and writing some stuff that was heavier than what we were aiming for in that band. We decided to get Frozen Soul back together with our bass player Sam [Mobley] and wrote three songs and a cover for our first demo. After a few tours and an awesome run with Maggot Stomp we began writing new material with our drummer Matt [Dennard] and our second guitar player Chris [Bonner] added in the mix and things aligned for us to meet Mike Gitter of Century Media. Now we are here.
IF YOU HAD TO DESCRIBE YOUR BAND'S MISSION STATEMENT, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
To do what we love, play passionate and aggressive music to express ourselves and help others do the same.
HOW DID YOU FIRST GET INTO EXTREME METAL?
Music has always been a part of my life. My grandfather owned a popular Fort Worth rock venue in the Eighties called Savvy's and my mom worked there. So I was there a lot as a baby. I always liked Metallica and Pantera as a kid because I grew up hearing them, and stories of Pantera playing Savvy's. At some point my mom got me some Rob Zombie, Korn and Limp Bizkit CDs for Christmas and I thought they were wild and so extreme! [Laughs] I'd say around 9th and 10th grade I started meeting more kids like me and they showed me stuff like Slayer, Decapitated and even hardcore and metalcore bands like Madball and As I Lay Dying. From there, I just fell down the rabbit hole.
BEING IN A BAND, WHAT IS THE HARDEST CHALLENGE YOU HAVE COME ACROSS SO FAR, AND HOW DID YOU OVERCOME IT?
I think the hardest challenge is finding people who share the same passion and drive that you do and keeping things together. With Frozen Soul we have developed a bond and a goal that can never be broken, and we make sure to communicate everything to one another so we can stay on point and constantly move forward. It has been a truly amazing experience so far.
OBVIOUSLY LIVE SHOWS ARE ON HOLD RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC. BUT BEFORE EVERYTHING SHUT DOWN, WHAT WAS YOUR PRESHOW RITUAL?
I just sort of hang out and try to relax. I get bad preshow anxiety so being calm and just focusing before we play helps me a lot.
WHAT'S THE BEST PART OF BEING ON TOUR AND WHAT'S THE WORST PART OF BEING ON TOUR — AND DO YOU MISS IT?
There is not anything bad about tour for me. I'd put up with all the uncomfortable stuff 10 times over to be on the road right now! Seeing those city skylines everyday and living life by our rules, our way is so rewarding and therapeutic to me. I miss it more than anything right now.
WHAT'S THE WEIRDEST PLACE YOU EVER SLEPT ON TOUR?
I've stayed in a motel where the floor felt like glue. There was rusty razors and trash in the shower and the windows were taped together. I've also stayed in a punk house that had 30 people living there and it was probably 85 degrees in the house and smelled like cat piss!
WHAT'S THE CRAZIEST, OR MOST MEMORABLE, THING THAT'S EVER HAPPENED AT ONE OF YOUR SHOWS?
There are a few that really stick out to me. One is playing Saint Vitus Bar in Brooklyn and someone showed up with a literal shark for us to sign. [Laughs] I guess one of the craziest things to me personally was when we turned on our snow machine for the first time at our home show the last day of tour. We had just bought it and had no idea how it would work. We had our friend Caj operate it and when he let it roar at the beginning of our set I could hear everyone in the room yelling in excitement being surprised about that and it blew me away.
WHAT ARE YOUR ESSENTIAL ITEMS THAT YOU HAVE TO BRING WITH YOU WHILE ON TOUR?
Most definitely wet wipes. [Laughs] Other than that, I forget a ton and have to stop and spend all the money I brought with me buying stuff from Walmart.
SINCE YOU'VE BEEN STUCK AT HOME, HAVE YOU DISCOVERED ANY NEW CREATIVE ROUTINES TO HELP KEEP YOU INSPIRED OVER THE LAST YEAR?
Like everyone else things were really rough for me mentally during the lockdowns. I had some low lows and decided to pick myself up and start working out. I started hiking everyday: starting out small then going for a few miles a day. Then I started going to the gym right after. I got a trainer and have been hiking and hitting the gym six days a week since and it's completely changed my life. And now our drummer Matt has joined me!
WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER PASSIONS OUTSIDE OF MUSIC?
Now it's my general health and fitness, but I love video games and movies.
DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS?
I do: two cats Salem and Gacy, and a dog Eddie a.k.a. Spaghetti or Sketti.
WHAT BAND OR MUSICAL ARTIST ARE YOU A BIG FAN OF? ANY SUPERFAN STORIES?
I have huge Mortician logo [tattooed] right above my ass crack — so that about sums that up ... [Laughs] Other than that, I am a huge Metallica, Bolt Thrower and Obituary fan.
IF YOU COULD ONLY PLAY ONE OF YOUR SONGS FOR SOMEONE TO INTRODUCE THEM TO YOUR BAND, WHAT SONG WOULD IT BE?
A song off the new record called "Arctic Stranglehold." I think it about sums up everything this band is meant to be.
DALLAS, AND TEXAS IN GENERAL, HAS A LONG HISTORY OF KILLER HEAVY MUSIC WITH BANDS LIKE PANTERA AND POWER TRIP, TO NAME JUST TWO. HOW WOULD YOU SAY FROZEN SOUL FIT INTO THAT LINEAGE?
There are some huge shoes to fill and we are lucky to be able to be part of that lineage! We're just doing what we love, how we want to do it. We want to write music that moves us and in turn moves others. We work with the philosophy: keep it simple stupid, or less is sometimes more. And think that it's perfectly OK to just write heavy fun stuff you like and not be so worried about being the fastest or most technical band if you don't want to. We hope that through what we are doing we can show people that if you truly believe in and work hard at what you love, good things will happen for you.
