Cold was one of my favorite bands in high school and college. They weren’t exactly rap-rock or nu metal, but they were lumped in with the rest of the Limp Bizkit wannabes. After disappearing in 2012, the band has reemerged with Scooter Ward as the only original member left. Expectations were low for this band and the record because it’s been so long since the last release – but here we are, with a record that isn’t their worst or their best effort.
The first thing you notice with the opener, “Shine” is that the music has gotten a lot slower…and it’s definitely not for the better. Midtempo with loud guitars is what suits this band best, and the radio-friendly sound presented here showcases the worst side of the band. Unfortunately, “Snowblind” follows the same tendencies and has Scooter and Co. headed for the next train to the oldies circuit.
You would think a band like this covering the Snow Patrol classic “Run” would be ripe for disaster. It also happens to be one of my favorite songs of all time, but they turn in an admirable version, even if they did shorten the length just a bit. It’s one of the more interesting tracks here and definitely helps keep this record from horror.
“Without You” is one of the few cuts here where the band sound like they used to and it’s a refreshing change of pace. The only other time that happens is on “The One That Got Away,” which thankfully isn’t a Katy Perry cover. While it too is slower, it has more of that old Cold style and Scooter’s vocals sound as strong as they were back in the day.
Suffice to say, this is not the Cold you may remember from 2000-2003 with songs like “Stupid Girl,” “No One,” and “End Of The World.” This is a ballad-driven band with slower songs and less emphasis on the heaviness that made them so special in the first place. This is quite disappointing and is best left to the dustbin.