Ovfrost puts out good guitar work, and I really like his vocals. The musicianship here is on a high enough level to merit this being a solo-project. Most of the songs are a pleasant experience to listen to, but I could not hum to you a single riff after I am finished with the record. Without a single guitar riff to stand alone and on its own merit, it’s hard for me to grab onto something to remember. The downside to that is, that some of the songs come along a bit samey. The overall approach seems to be to build a thick wall of sound, and in that, both the songwriting and the mixing succeed. The guitar work consists of multiple layers, and there are plenty of piano parts thrown in for good measure, always utilized in an effective way to enhance the overall feeling. The record definitely leans towards a melodic, post-black direction.
With Karst Relict, I feel like there is a progress to Ovfrost as a songwriter, with an even stronger emphasis on melodies and atmosphere. To Mantle the Rising Sun was almost there, with an overall quite melodic approach to black metal but spiced up with some dirty and slightly aggressive riffs. One-man black metal projects are a dime a dozen these days, and while some of them are quite good, rarely does one really amaze me.
Ovfrost is already back with a new full-length, called Karst Relict. I first stumbled upon it last year, with the quite impressive release To Mantle the Rising Sun, and now one year later Mr. Malist is a one-man black metal project from Moscow, Russia, founded by Ovfrost.
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