I was initially worried Shade Empire failed to live up to their previous two albums, but I got to speak with Henry Hämäläinen himself on Reddit. He opened me to a new perspective. What I love about Shade Empire is still here, but there're new elements blended into their sound now. It's evolving as it did between 2008 and 2013. The orchestral tracks show Sunholy is instrumentally rich; even its backing tracks are complete songs. Sunholy is different, but this is still the Shade Empire I love.

Three years ago, I found a CD of this album at a book store. I grabbed it last second during closing time. When I put it in my car's CD player for the drive home, I didn't know what I was getting into, but Coven of Frost was what made me realize this was no ordinary local band. Repeated listens helped me see how spectacular the other tracks are too. It's hard to believe if I had been frugal that night at the book store, I would've missed out on an amazing band that was right in my own backyard.