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I'm usually not too keen on "all-stars bands" - the result is often disheartening. Frost is a project by ex-Savatage/Seven Witches guitarist Jack Frost with a lineup that can make some fans dream: Jack Frost, Gonzo Sandoval (Armored Saint, Life After Death), Johnny Dee (Doro, Britny Fox, Waysted), Mike Duda (W.A.S.P.), Joey Vera (Armored Saint, Fates Warning, Seven Witches), Billy Childs (Britny Fox), Mike LePond (Symphony X), Harry Hess (Harem Scarem), Bobby Lucas (Overlorde), Joe Comeau (Annihilator, Overkill), Steve Braun (Azlan), Jack Emrick (Life After Death) and Rob Rock (Impellittari, Warrior, Axel Rudi Pell.) With such a lineup, it's not surprising to end up with an album loaded with songs deeply rooted in catchy 80s heavy metal. The opener "Stay" however is not a good indicator of what makes up the bulk of the album: Simplistic, modern-sounding guitars (not nu-metal but flirting with it a bit), and while it's a bit catchy, it's quite forgettable as far as quality goes. Definitely an outlier on the album...

The rest of the album is like a trip back in time to the 80s, a collection of very catchy songs reminiscent of the heydays of heavy metal in the mid-80s, mostly commercial-sounding (but not exactly going toward glam either.) This is what I often call "party metal" (no, not an official genre :)) in that it's catchy yet heavy and metalized enough to appeal to both hard rock and metal fans but mostly this is the kind of stuff that'll get a good party going. Interestingly, the ballad "The Man I Am" reminded me more of mid-80s Bryan Adams than anything metal. :) (Contrary to popular belief, this is not an insult...) The album ends with a cover of Ratt's "Lack of Communication". Then unfortunately you realise that the album was only slightly over 36 minutes in length. :(

There's nothing groundbreaking here - I don't think that was the objective (if it was, then they failed :)). This is straightforward light-hearted hard rock/metal with no pretention, the kind of stuff you listen to when you just want to have a good time, sing along and air guitar to - well, you get the idea. I think this risks appealing more to the nostalgics who want to hear some new stuff with the good old sound, and for that, "A Fistful Of Metal" delivers the goods.