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Cold

The most successful Grunge/Nu Metal combo
from Jacksonville

Cold (1998) - 9/10
13 Ways to Bleed on Stage (2000) - 8/10
Year of the Spider (2003) - 7/10
Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy (2004) - 7/10
A Different Kind of Pain (2005) - 7/10

Cold is a metal band from Jacksonville, Florida that started out in 1996. They were originally called Grundig, and were one of Limp Bizkit frontman
Fred Durst's bands he was trying to get signed. When Limp Bizkit eventually blew up with their debut Three Dollar Bill Y'all$, Fred got
them signed to their same record label. The guitarist from Limp Bizkit, Wes Borland, suggested they change their band name to "Cold", describing their
songwriting style. Their self-titled debut, Cold (Flip, 1998) was a successful combination of Grunge and Nu Metal, and even occasionally taking
inspiration from genres like slowcore. Their vocalist Scooter Ward, initially seems like just another Creed/Pearl Jam/Bush/Seether type singer,
which is partially true, but on this particular record he is inspired by gothic bands like Type O Negative, so he definitely has a distinct voice. It
starts off with Go Away, which features a spaghetti western inspired riff and a catchy chorus. The next song "Give" sounds like a grunge Weezer.
The song "Ugly" is one of the many acoustic-based tracks here. It puts Scooter's unique voice in the spotlight and many great production techniques
from nu metal legend, Ross Robinson. "Everyone Dies" is a well arranged Industrial rock-inspired cut. "Strip Her Down" is the longest and slowest
song, built around a very melancholic acoustic guitar. It has great psychedelic keyboards and shoegaze-style guitar layers, the best basslines
on the entire record, passionate and emotional lyrics and vocals. The melodies here are genius. "Insane" is a dramatic song with a memorable chorus.
"Goodbye Cruel World" is a dark yet catchy Cure meets metal type song. "Serial Killer" is based around one guitar lick and doesn't have much
to it, but has a great energetic flow and vocals. "Superstar" is another amazing slower acoustic focused track and has a really low octave bass-y
gothic synthesizer used throughout the entire thing. "The Switch" is a return to poppier songwriting, with more shoegaze influenced guitar
effects. "Makes Her Sick" is one of the catchiest songs here. 13 Ways to Bleed On Stage (Flip, 2000) was their second album and replaced most
of the electronic and keyboard parts with more intricately mastered guitars and vocals. There also aren't as many acoustic tracks, except for the song
"Bleed" featuring Aaron Lewis from Staind. It starts with "Just Got Wicked" that has a great style. "She Said" is an infectious song that has a lot
in common with pop punk. "End of the World" is a really well made song. "Send in the Clowns" is the album's biggest highlight for it's strange main
riff and unique style for it's genre. "It's All Good" and "Same Drug" lyrically are a critical metaphor regarding Scooter's substance abuse issues at
the time. "Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy Soundtrack (2003) was a PS2 game OST they made. Year of the Spider (2003) is a pleasant
record but has less highlights than their previous albums. It contains the huge radio hit "Stupid Girl" co-written by Rivers Cum from
Weezer. A Different Kind of Pain (2005) is their last decent full album.