Frigid “Contempt of Decay”

Label: Iron Fortress Records · Year: 2026

Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, Frigid are a very new trio, but they already sound fully locked into their identity. After releasing a handful of demos and singles in 2025, the band now steps forward with their debut EP in 2026, and it immediately shows confidence and purpose. What they deliver is a distinctly Chicago-flavoured death metal attack built on razor-sharp, dynamic thrash-slasher death metal riffs.

The band’s core sound is driven by tight, aggressive guitar work that channels old-school American death-thrash rather than leaning heavily into Swedish or European influences. There are only faint traces of Scandinavian tone here; instead, the riffs are sharp, dry, and cutting, supported by fast, punchy thrash-death drumming that keeps the momentum constantly moving. The vocals are another strong point—hostile, aggressive, and shifting between different growl registers, adding urgency but also predictability to the songs.

Frigid’s devotion to old-school thrash-death metal is most clearly defined by their riff writing and guitar tone, both of which feel authentic and rooted in classic US underground traditions. Personally, I really enjoyed the guitar and drum performances throughout the EP. The only real drawback is the bass guitar, which feels buried beneath the guitars and drums. Stronger, more lethal bass lines would have elevated the EP into something even more vicious.

If forced to label them, Frigid sound like a more death-thrash metal-oriented version of their Chicago peers Cianide, mixed with early Incubus (US). Overall, this EP shows real promise and marks Frigid as a band worth following closely.