Artist: HB (Holy Bible)
Title: Frozen Inside
Website: http://www.myspace.com/hbmetal
Style: Melodic/Symphonic Metal
Label: Bullroser Records (USA Distribution YoungSide Records)
Rating: 8.3 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

The band HB is from Forssa, Finland. The group got their start in 2002 and has released several albums. Frozen Inside is the English version of their Finnish release, Enne. The song lyrics have been translated into English and the CD re-mastered and re-titled for this new version.

Listening to their music, along with reading their press material, let me know that HB is all about serving God with their music. The songs found on Frozen Inside are filled with lyrics that talk about God’s grace, glory, and redeeming power, along with praising Him.

Stylistically the songs are melodic metal with a big emphasis on being symphonic, via the rich strings (violin, viola, cello) parts, along with flute and french horn, and even a full choir element that’s found in the songs.

Band member Johanna Aaltonen handles the lead vocals. She has a pure singing voice that has almost an operatic quality to it. While it’s those vocals that drive the songs there’s also a very strong keyboard presence found a lot in the songs. I also liked the way the lead guitar parts were used, adding a punch to the songs, while not overwhelming them.

Highlight tracks for me included, “It Is Time,” a song that talks about needing to have more then just a faith life of words, that real actions needs to accompany those words to really matter. The song “Be Aware,” offers up some nice metal guitar and talks about the need to stand up and be ready for when the second coming happens.

The song, “Ambition,” is another track I enjoyed with its upbeat tempo, dealing with taking credit for things that we do, when we know that it’s really God who deserves all the glory for it.

The release ends really strong with its last two tracks, “Way,” and “Lovesong.” The song “Way,” is lush with strings, keys, and flute parts. The song has a soft melodic flow that also features a male talking part about halfway through that includes a salvation prayer. The album’s last track, “Lovesong,” also features male singing vocals to go along with the lead female ones. This song is another rich string filled symphonic sounding track that is filled with worship to the Lord and wanting to live a life that’s totally in service to Him.

If you like your metal music lush and rich with a symphonic sound then you need to get Frozen Inside from the band HB.