Review: Cold "A Different Kind of Pain"

Cold is a heavy guitar-driven rock band that had a respectable hit with 2003's "Stupid Girl" from the album, "Year of the Spider." The band was then strangely ignored by its label and suffered a sudden lack of promotion just as things were -ahem- warming up for them. After some personnel changes, Cold got back into the studio to cut this record, "A Different Kind of Pain." (Lava Records (Atlantic)).

The lyrical content is presumed to center around Scooter Ward's (vocals) sister, who was fighting cancer at the time. Songs like the title track, "When Angels Fly Away" and "God's Song" would seem to be consistent with this rumor. It is a sad and moving record when listened to with this perspective in mind. The first single, "Happens All the Time" is one of the more melodic tracks despite its heavy themes and should have been much bigger at radio.

Cold seems to be surrounded by bad breaks. It is a shame, as this record showed a lot of promise for the developing band. But this one appears to be their last record, as they announced one year ago that they had disbanded. You can track what Scooter is up to these days at the MySpace link...watch for his new project, "When November Falls." I wonder if this speaks to the fact that Cold disbanded in November?

Cold at MySpace. Official site.

iPOD-worthy: 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11

Check out the video for "Happens All the Time":