"This Canadian band's opus is awesome: 8 tracks of a furious and deafening Black Metal that reminds me in general of the simplicity of Darkthrone and maybe sometimes Urgheal. In my opinion, the sound production is phenomenal and rich, maybe like many others current bands, but it also sports a dirty sound with a well-balanced amount of rawness that emphasizes the sound of the guitars. Unlike many others "True Black Metal" groups, Frozen Shadows does not want to intentionally sound bad, just so they might be labeled as a primitive Black Metal act made out of cavemen to be more respected by the close-minded circles of the scene. There's nothing of that here…the production in its whole is wonderful. The songs are intense and dominant from the beginning to the end. They are not always blasting throughout the album, as there are some songs with atmospheric and mid tempo passages, which might repel some die-hard headbangers (À l'Ombre Du Mal or Towards the chambers of Nihil for example), but I must insist that these compositions have class and excellence. The vocals are performed in the classic way to sing Black Metal: I am talking about those desperate screams that fit perfectly in the music. The drums sound is in my opinion the weakest point of the album, as it seems to me that their sound is not at the level of the rest, although it is only a personal opinion. The opening track As Old as Time Itself is among my favorites within this album, and is the one I would most likely recommend to new listeners of this band: it will leave you stuck on the ceiling of your room from beginning to end because of its sheer power! Another song I would like to point out is Battered Souls, because of its killer riffs and insane speed. This album is full of intensity and great ideas, like some gourmet food with a delightful taste…" 8,5/10

Kuravilu, Chile

"It's been five years since we last heard from Quebec's Frozen Shadows. It was back in 1999 that they unleashed their devastating debut album Dans les Bras des Immortels, and since then I have no idea what the bands been doing, but at long last they've returned with a new album titled Hantises, a new record label (Holy Records), and a new drummer by the name of Melkor. Hantises follows very closely to Dans les Bras des Immortels, but there are some differences. Most notably is that the band is more or less just a brutal black metal band now, whereas on the previous release they were more like a mix of early Immortal & Emperor. The keyboards still do appear occasionally, and when they are used they give a very dark & haunting atmosphere to this release. A major improvement upon this album is the production and the overall musicianship. The debut was quite raw sounding, and probably might have been a bit too much for the casual black metal fan to appreciate. Fortunately this release features a top-notch production with all the instruments being audible. What's more the band really deliver a great album filled with chaotic drumming, splendid guitar playing, and completely evil, hate filled vocals from Myrkhaal. Truly as a whole this is one the best black metal albums I've heard in a long time. The band pummels through eight brutal tracks with top musicianship & great production and not one second of it is boring! With any luck Hantises will deliver this band out of obscurity and into a much bigger black metal spotlight." 9/10

Lunar Hypnosis, United States

"March 2004 was month in which the newest album from Canada's Frozen Shadows was released. What this Hantises shows is that the Black Metal plague has also reached Quebec. A listen to these 8 hymns of worship to chaos and destruction bring to mind such names as Satyricon, Setherial, Immortal, Behemoth, and Emperor, but, despite some influences, these Canadians do not rip-off a single band. Even if some connections can be made to the mid-nineties era Black Metal, there is nothing obsolete in the group's material, only some refreshing takes on old tricks. The furious Black Metal coming out of the speakers painfully rips you apart you like an angry and nightmarish horde that will break your neck. This groups subjects the listener to continuous and wild attacks of blasphemous music, overcharged with fury and hatred. Hantises is a very direct and uncompromising album that will bring back the old black metal spirit in an excellent way. Although it has a good sound quality, it is not "infected" by modern patterns like female vocals, and the atmosphere is dark, dirty and brutal. It is very easy to get into Hantises, but getting out of it is quite another thing. There's no use fighting against Frozen Shadows' music: the best thing is to surrender to it. A very good piece of infernal metal." 8,5/10

Mega-Sin Magazine, Poland

"After an unbearable silence of more than four years, the cold lands of Quebec have witnessed at last the rebirth of Frozen Shadows. During these wandering years, the group's members have grown more resentful and ever hateful, as can be seen on Hantises. On this new offering, Frozen Shadows has hardened its tone by offering a stripped down, fast and technical Black Metal that soars to new levels of blasphemy. The charisma of darkness and tormented souls forever inhabits this opus that pushes back the boundaries of the extreme. The ripping voice of Myrkhaal invokes crime in a call to fight the weak, sustained by relentless musical violence. Gathered in the arms of the immortals to better destroy the reeking germs of humanity, Frozen Shadows has launched a new frenzied assault to build its empire of ice." 5/6

Metallian Magazine, France

"It's 2004, and Frozen Shadows is back with a new album, Hantises, that has both a raw and powerful sound. It is a brutal and aggressive affair, but it also has the dark and mysterious aura of Black Metal: you can expect a violent and monstrous album in the purest Black Metal tradition. The lyrics are akin to poems and give a poetic and aesthetic aspect to it all, while maintaining a dark and tortured approach. The group offers us an absolutely freezing atmosphere, and the sound is beyond reproach. This album has a naturally evil vibe, and it will overwhelm you with guitars that grab you by the throat to let you go only to plunge you into very dark atmospheres. The vocals parts are also perfectly hateful and pushed to the limits, bringing to mind both Darkthrone and Marduk (Opus Nocturne only). A must for all Old School Black Metal fans!"

Metal News, France

"After 5 years of silence, Frozen Shadows are back from their cold caves with a follow-up to 1999's fantastic Dans les Bras des Immortels. The band now being on Holy Records, a label that is clearly not Black Metal oriented, some might believe that it had changed its musical style or softened it a bit, but nothing could be more removed from the truth! Frozen Shadows is still the same fast and evil True Black Metal group with dark and atmospheric keyboards. The only down point I can think of is the fact that you have to listen a few times to their songs before you can truly appreciate them, as they seem a little linear the first time around. Lineup-wise, the band's new drummer Melkor gives a great performance, and his style reminds me of Crystalium's AZK6. In short, Hantises is an album that will please all earlier fans of the group, while the new ones will be able to listen to the band's early stages through its Empires de Glace demo, featured on the album's limited edition."

Noz Pagan Fanzine, Belgium

"Aside from the fact this Canadian band has a completely unoriginal black metal moniker, Hantises is without any doubt one of the most underground piece of black metal art heard from ages. The Frozen Shadows sound is very fast paced classic black metal mixed in with some oppressive surroundings. It is a refreshing change in the nowadays black metal scene to hear a band playing this sort of cacophonous black music (something you can regard as a crossing between modern classic music and first hour black metal). The musical ability is therefore very good and the songwriting is as complex as it is innovative. Songs such as Des Siècles d'Épitaphes, Battered Souls or Through Fields Of Mercilessness sound to my ears as an encounter between Darkthrone, Emperor (first period), Setherial, Gorgoroth, Peccatum and Wagner. A special mention for the very good drum work. A very good - original - black metal album."

Pull the Chain, Belgium

"When I received this promo and examined the logo and artwork, I did not know of the carnage that would lay ahead of me. I expected a death or doom band, but I got very tight Black metal instead! Yes, Black metal with a capital B! These Canadian guys blast your head off with a very own kind of blackmetal.. It bears resemblances to Satyricon, Emperor or perhaps even Abigor, only a lot faster and aggressive. Highly technical riffs flow into one and other, and blast are seamlessly combined with more atmospheric pieces and everything is adorned with ripping vocals. Some titles are in French and personally, I like it when bands sing in their native tongue. I had never heard of these guys until now, but some research shows they have been around for many years. Who knows what else roams in the Canadian mountains? Hantises is a great modern black album and should be in every self respecting blackmetal fans collection. Usually I name some favorite songs, but every track on this album is a black gem and I truly can say there are no mediocre songs on this CD. Keep ears out for these guys!"

Quintessence Magazine, Netherlands

"Is it because of these very harsh Canadian winters? Perhaps. In all cases, it seems that barbaric echoes, not unlike those of their estranged Scandinavian cousins are starting to resound on the shores of the St-Laurent. Frozen Shadows has released its first demo Empires de Glaces in 1996 and a self-produced album, Dans les Bras des Immortels, as a three-piece after a few line-up problems. But a real contract was only signed in 2003, with the French Holy Records offering the group a 4-album deal. Recorded near the end of 2003, this first "true" opus from Frozen Shadows is vastly up to all expectations. Let's bet that Black Metal surely is not the musical trend in Garou's country (Note: Garou is the name of a popular French-speaking singer from Québec), so the band's merit is only greater. Hantises has no pretension to revolutionize the genre, but it will convince without a doubt the most die-hard Black Metal fans. The group's dosage is perfect: morbid and evil enough to earn the support from the hard-liners, it is nonetheless totally understandable. In other words, this album is well produced, and the kind of "true black metal" recorded in one take at the bottom of a vault is not the band's cup of tea. And it serves them well. Even though they knew they had to keep a certain level of integrity, Frozen Shadows have done a meticulous work. The 4-piece even included keyboards to strengthen the overall sepulchral atmosphere. The band's Black Metal is epic, cavernous, hateful, but it never falls into easiness or, even worse, self-parody. Also worthy of mention is the limited double CD edition that features, as a bonus, a remastered version of Empires de Glace. Collectors, this is for you." 7/10

Rock Hard Magazine, France

"Here's the second album from Frozen Shadows, a very interesting french group that went to the Carpathian Forest school of Black Metal. We could even say that Frozen Shadows is the French answer to Carpathian Forest, but saying that they are copying Carpathian Forest would be an insult to both the group and our readers: Frozen Shadows has its own identity!! As I've already said before, the Carpathian Forest resemblance is obvious, but these 4 Frenchmen go well beyond the clone label with their blasphemies. Frozen Shadows masterfully demonstrate with this album that Black Metal is truly living a second rebirth. 8 violent, destructive songs full of hatred and desecration with a frightening rhythm section and a drummer that plays so fast he seems to have several hands: a slaughter! The riffs are evil to the core and sustained by mesmerizing keyboard parts, to keep the dark atmosphere! Add to that the screams of Myrkhaal that pull you towards new heights in both French and English, and you have one hell of a Black Metal album!
Frozen Shadows clearly demonstrate that they possess the level and maturity to offer top-notch songs (just listen to Des Siècles d'Épitaphes) between ultrafast accelerations and catacombal tempos. In short, a truly great band, recommended to all True Black Metal (and Carpathian Forest!) fans!!! "

Still Born Magazine, Italy

"This is a bit of a surprise for me; a Canadian band that can meet with the Norwegian illustrious black metal scene; Frozen Shadows is the name, and you'd better remember it! In one way it is not surprising, as Canada has the same kind of inspirational forests as Norway does, yet this time it really supplied us with an excellent band. Hantises is Frozen Shadows' second album, and it is a blast!!! Frozen Shadows makes a kind of grim, semi-technical black metal in the veins of Immortal at the times of Pure Holocaust yet with the intensity of Battles in the North, old Emperor (not too many breaks) and Dissection/Dawn; now those are names well worth listening, and so is this Frozen Shadows. As a matter of fact, it is unbelievable that such a band is signed to a smaller label as Holy Records, without meaning anything negative about Holy Records. The album does not bore me for one single moment, and that is quite an achievement! Myrkhaal spits his lyrics in both English and French out of the speakers and the songs are full of breaks; breaks that do justice to the song, not as a desperate sign of showing the band's capabilities as musicians. 8 Songs in fifty minutes; Frozen Shadows' songs are longer than average, yet they catch my attention more than most of the bands that have short songs (say around four minutes). The songs have well-written fast (sometimes almost blast like) parts, but at several occasions Frozen Shadows prove to understand the legal effect of heavy, threatening passages. Keyboards are used only for what they should be used for; to add something to the atmosphere of the music, so mainly a low profile, background role. Okay, many things have already been done before, especially by the bands I compared them with at the beginning, but I could not care less. If you like your black well produced (yet not over-produced or too polished) and with a lot of variety and intensity, I think you better find out about this Hantises! Hell's legions have once more recruited a powerful berserker, a moosehead this time! Frozen Shadows are the name, and it can be written down in inkblack blood! (Un)holy shit!!!"

Vampire Magazine, Netherlands