Review by: Justin Donnelly - The Metal Forge Webzine - 2007.

Four years after releasing their overwhelmingly well received second full-length album Blood Oath in 2003, Melbourne based metal outfit Frankenbok return with their long awaited third album Murder Of Songs, which is their first for Perth based independent label Prime Cuts Music after parting ways with Roadrunner Records. Recorded well before their recent line-up reshuffle, which saw vocalist Adam B. Metal (Who parted ways with the band in early 2007 to concentrate on his own outfit The Departed) and guitarist Scott Lang (Who decided to pursue his chosen profession in Hong Kong) being replaced by ex-Block/McDougall Brothers/Repugnance vocalist Daniel McDougall and Headmess/4Arm/Embodied guitarist Nathan 'Yeti' Amatnieks alongside guitarist Aaron Butler, bassist/keyboardist Tim Miedecke and drummer Mick Morley, Murder Of Songs once again sees Frankenbok build upon the strong foundation that laid out with their previous release, with the ten tracks showing a further growth and sense of maturity throughout.

The aggression and drive of Worship Before The Dead and The Meltdown are somewhat reminiscent of the direction and sound that Frankenbok presented on their Blood Oath release to some extent, while Walk This Lie(fe), As It Comes Down On You and Down To The Wire all prove to be songs with huge radio potential with chorus structures that are as every bit as much memorable as What Is Real?, without forsaking the obviously heavy direction Frankenbok have decided to head into with Murder Of Songs. In regards to weaker moments, Triumph is the only song on the album that tends to fit the bill, with the guitars sounding a little thin in places (Although on a song basis, it's still quite a strong effort), but any shortcomings of the former track are swept aside with slower and epic sounding closer Sludge (I Will Take / Make These Horizons).

On the surface, there's not a real lot of difference between Blood Oath and Murder Of Songs, but if you dig a little under the surface of Murder Of Songs, small subtle differences like heaviness, a refinement of chorus structures and the careful consolidation of fully developed ideas in regards to overall song structures (Especially within the riffs) do stand out as proof of progression within the band, and help make Murder Of Songs more than just another album to follow up their last release. 7.5 out of 10.

Review source: Frankenbok - Murder Of Songs Review

Review by: Brendan Crabb - Blastwave Webzine - 2007

Even some of their most ardent fans will probably admit that Melbourne's Frankenbok have been a little difficult to take completely seriously in the past. A dodgy Pop cover version that was catchy, sure, but also rather irritating, having a front man named Adam B Metal (no disrespect to the man, who is a great guy - it's just a really hammy name!), embracing the cheesy side of Metal and writing songs called 'Fucken Kuntz' will do that to you. Now though, it's time to take Frankenbok much more seriously.

The departure of one guitarist and later front man Adam B Metal, leaving Roadrunner Australia and a much-delayed new album could have made this album an utter mess, but it's easily the most cohesive piece of work they've made yet. No, it isn't a masterpiece or an album that flows incredibly fluently, but the band's modern Thrash sound, peppered with dollops of Heavy Metal, hints of Metalcore ('Failure To Learn') and a noticeable Death 'N' Roll focus ('Triumph') works pretty well on this disc.

This is by far the most genuinely melodic recording to bear the band's name; their vocalist isn't the most natural of clean singers you'll ever hear, but the enthusiasm is clearly there when belting out the rather memorable choruses of 'What is Real?' or 'Down To The Wire'. The vocals are both intense and attention-grabbing, and the Swedish influences evident in the guitars of the grooving 'The Night And The Fog' come off without a hitch. Sure, the majority of the song writing is hardly adventurous, and theres one or two dispensable songs, but to put it simply, it works. The hooks of 'Walk This Lie(fe)' and 'As It Comes Down On You' are far stronger than anything the band have done before and are catchy for the right reasons.

My only major gripe is closing track 'Sludge', which while exploring the kind of dynamics the band have never really ventured into before, is about twice as long as it should be at over ten minutes. It's a good idea, but just needed some editing. With this album being the final recording featuring the aforementioned Mr Metal, and with the band already beginning to write songs with new vocalist Dan, the future looks promising for Frankenbok. If they can continue to focus on writing punchy, melodic tunes with just enough of their trademark energy then the next album could be an absolute stormer. A more melodic, mature and actually pretty interesting Frankenbok has arrived.

Review source: Frankenbok - Murder Of Songs Review