Cold
Year of the Spider

(Flip/Geffen Records)
Scoter Ward (vocals)
Terry Balsamo (guitar)
Kelly Hayes (guitar)
Jeremy Marshall (bass)
Sam McCandless (drums)

They always say that the third time�s a charm and they�re right when it comes to Cold�s third release Year of the Spider, out on Flip/Geffen Records. After putting out two albums and going gold with their last effort, 2000�s 13 Ways To Bleed On Stage, Cold is destined to hit multi-platinum status with this passionate collection of melodically dark and deeply emotional songs that simply make you go �Wow!�

First things first�buy this album! Plain and simple. I could not and still can�t get this disc out of my CD player; at home, at work, in the car, in the weight room, etc. I�m sucked into this whirlwind of emotions created by Cold�s music and most notably vocalist Scooter Ward�s lyrics that are taken from not only his own experiences, but from those of the fans as well; creating a much stronger bond between band and fan. Produced by Howard Benson, from the hot-blooded opener �Remedy� to the album closer, there�s no such thing as skipping or fast-forward on Year of the Spider. Don�t even think about touching that button. Let it play for this is one of the most entrancing albums I have heard in a long, long time. I don�t even know where to really start because every single note is worth listening to, which in this day and age has become a rarity in this sham of a music industry, as Scooter pretty much takes the words right of my mouth in �Kill the Music Industry;� Sick of all this monotony/Kill the music industry. That about sums it up.

For starters, you have the album�s first single �Stupid Girl.� Weezer head geek Rivers Cuomo pitched in on this catchy track by co-writing some of the lyrics and also doing some vocals. It�s a great song and certainly captures your attention, but Cold just touches the tip of the iceberg on Year of the Spider with that track. �Remedy,� �Don�t Belong� and a couple others tug on the heavier, upbeat end of Cold�s rock pre-eminence, but I think that some of their strongest stuff comes through in the more heartrending songs like �Sad Happy,� which was inspired by the cries of some of their younger female fans who opened up to Scooter about being raped, or even more so the striking �Cure My Tragedy (A Letter To God),� where Scooter pours out his entire being in hopes that God will cure his sister of cancer. It�s an emotionally intense song. �Wasted Years� carries a somber tone reinforced by string arrangements. Another highlight is �Suffocate,� which features Sierra Swan on backing vocals, who Scooter considers to be the sixth member of Cold. Although the final track listed on Year of the Spider is �Kill the Music Industry,� let the album continue playing for about 16 minutes into the final track there�s another little gem waiting to be heard.

The matter of the fact here is that both musically and lyrically this album does what music is supposed to do; touch you...and with meaning. There�s too much emphasis these days on simply getting the �rage� out with a simple riff and screaming, which sometimes translates to no real substance. Cold has substance, structure, melodies, emotions, riffs�whatever; it�s all there.

This truly is the Year of the Spider.

-Sam Bello

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