When taking into account these guys' former musical ties, it is obvious that Freya's debut, As the Last Light Drains, will be a pummeling record. And they don't disappoint. Consisting of three ex-Earth Crisis members, vocalist/screamer Karl Buechner, guitarist Erick Edwards, and bassist Bulldog, along with guitarist/vocalist Darian Lizotte and drummer Cory Koniz, they kick off this thirteen-track disc with a heavy instrumental entitled "Veritas" that includes a lone echoed blood-curdling scream appearing midway through the short song. And this basically sets the stage for the rest of the album - pure hardcore mayhem featuring frenetic guitars, relentless drums, and frenzied vocals.

Yet, this is not what Freya is all about. They manage to successfully fuse the blistering hardcore with melody, highlighted by the dual vocals from Buechner and Lizotte. This mixing of styles is evinced on songs like "Glasseating Smile," the catchy title track, "April Witch," the standout "Throwing Rocks at a Drowning Man," which features extremely heavy verses intermingled with melodic choruses, as well as the powerful "Tortured." And "Seize the Day" is hard as hell, but still features breaks of calm as well.

But of course, some songs are just full-blown manic hardcore, like "Dead in Her Eyes," which begins with a tormented scream, "Doomsday Device," the finale "Daisy Cutter," and "Down in Flames," which is just brutal with harsh vocals. This song is full of desperation, with lyrics like, "Down in flames it all falls/Everything that I fought for/Proceed with abandon/What's inside is all that's left/The reward for my sacrifice is scorn and a fist full of crumbs." Likewise, the heavy yet melodic "Glasseating Smile" features affecting lyrics. The sense of hopelessness is palpable ("Fate takes a hammer to my dreams"), and more painful, personal lyrics are featured on "Dead in Her Eyes" and the troubled "Tortured." However, the record does feature some glimmers of hope and resilience, as on the catchy and intense "Resuscitate": "Will not be caged or chained/I know there's more for me/All the pain that I have suffered taught me I was stronger than I thought." This is just an overall impressive effort from Freya: Powerful, emotional, energetic, compelling, and cerebral (Victory).