Disco de Cold: “Year of the Spider [PA]”

I am absolutely AMAZED by Cold's new album, "The Year of the Spider." While I enjoyed their last album, I have to say that this one is ten times better. "The Year of the Spider" is a powerful and addicting album from start to finish.

These guys have improved on every front when it comes to their music. The lyrics are emotionally charged and sincere, leaving you humming the words in your head even long after the CD is done playing. The guitar and drum playing has also improved, making every song flow in the best possible way. And all of the 13 songs that appear on this album are EXCELLENT.

While I love every song on the CD, there are a couple that I listen to the most. Those would be "suffocate," "cure my tragedy," "wasted years," "rain song," "change the world," and "the day seattle died." "Cure my tragedy" and "wasted years" have to be the two most powerful and emotionally charged songs on the album.

If you are a fan of Cold's past albums, then chances are that you will fall in love with this one as well. I have to say that I am quite impressed. This could be my favorite CD to come out this year so far. If you're looking for honest and sincere music that can actually speak to you, then look no further. Because you have found it. Cold's "Year of the Spider" is this band's best work as of now.

Track by track, here we go.

1. Remedy - Really explosive opening track. Beautiful guitars, beautiful bass, beautiful voices. Not my all time fav, but a great song. Really catchy too. 9.5/10

2. Suffocate - My least favorite song on the album. There is a girl singing after scoother sings and it kinda ruins it for me. This song isn't bad, just not my favorite. 9/10

3. Cure my Tragedy (A Letter to God) - A great song. Its quiet in the beginning, but then it somewhat explodes into a beautiful chorus. Scooter's vocals are great on this song. I also love the guitar part near the end where he goes on the small strings. 10/10

4. Stupid Girl - The first single from the album. Co-written by one of my main guys Rivers Cuomo of Weezer. This song is addictive, and is easy to see why its the first single. 10/10

5. Don't Belong - I really like this song. I really like the chorus of this song. I like the message behind this song. Listen to and and you'll know what I mean. 9.5/10

6. Wasted Years - A very sad song, but a good example of what Cold is. One of the best on the album. 10/10

7. Whatever you became - Not my favorite. Has a neat ending though. 9/10

8. Sad Happy - One of my 3 favorites. I really like the guitar riffs and Scooter's vocals on this one. The chorus is really strong, lyrically and musically. 11/10

9. Rain Song - One of my 3 favorites. I am addicted to the chorus of this song. Scooter has a real talent when it comes to singing and songwriting. This song sounds sad, and honestly, the song sounds like it is raining. A really powerful song. Scooter said he was motivated to write this when he remembered that three of his friends had died in a house fire, and it rained shortly after the fire. 11/10

10. The Day Seattle Died - This song is a tribut Kurt Cobain. This song is pretty cool. There is some heavy bass action during the song. It sounds pretty cool. The guitars sound kinda funky though. Then they tear ... atthe chorus, as usual ^.^ 9.5/10

11. Change the World - I am addicted to the beginning of this song. Sam tears it up on the drums and there is a haunting "OOOoooOOOOOOooooo" and it sounds really neat. I like the guitar riffs on the rest of the song. Also strong lyrically. 9.5/10

12. Black Sunday - Acoustic and electric guitar teamed up to create this beauty. I don't listen to this song much, usually because I skip to the next song... 9/10

13a. Kill the Music Industry - The heaviest song on the CD. A headbanger's song. The gutars and bass rip it up as Sam lays down the beats and Scoot screams "Kill the ...Music Industry!" A really pumped song, but Fast Forward to listen to.. 9.5/10

13b. Gone Away [Hidden Track] - My all-time favorite Cold song. I love everything about this song. The guitar, the vocals, everything. This song is really emotional, and I love it. I also love the guitar solo, done in the video on Kelly's Spider Guitar. The best Cold song ever. 100/10

This is one of my all-time favorite CDs, by one of my all-time favorite bands, Cold. I bought this the day it came out. May 13, 2003. Buy it today!

Yes, it's true. The critics officially hate Year of the Spider. Rolling Stone gave this cd 2 stars, and Spin labled the single Stupid Girl as "trash" alongside Evanescence's Bring Me To Life (June 2003 issue). Fortunately, Cold has a loyal fanbase (myself included) that doesn't give a $@%! what the critics think. Year of the Spider, the follow-up to 2000's 13 Ways to Bleed On Stage,

is chock full of dark, edgy riffs, and sing-along choruses. Imagine, if you will, a dark, tormented version of Creed combined with the melodic vocals and low tuned guitars of Staind and you'll have a fairly good idea of what Cold sounds like. The first single off the album, Stupid Girl is a catchy pop rock tune

featuring Rivers Cuomo of Weezer on lead guitar. Wasted Years opens with a surprisingly sweet violin arrangement, ushering in acoustic guitar and drums. My favorite track, Rain Song is a mournful love song. The chorus "every time it rains, I feel her holding me" pulls at the emotional strings of the listener while brining the ballad together. All in all, I found Year of the Spider to be Cold's most ambitious work in their four years of mainstream success. If you never liked Cold before, give this one a chance. Older fans will not be disappointed

This CD is incredible. I wasn't even paying attention to Cold and I had no idea that they released a new CD...that was until I walked into Best Buy on May 13th. I saw it and I immediately recalled how much I liked their previous album, 13 Ways to Bleed on Stage. My theory is that they could've only gotten better, because the progression from their 1st to 2nd album was phenomenal, so I could only imagine what was in store for me.

Normally what I'd do at this point is rate each song. I'm just gonna save time and say that all these songs got the highest score I would give. When I first put in the CD, I let it play from start to finish and I loved every single song I heard...including the song "Gone Away" which is about 18 minutes into the last track.

The DVD that comes with it is definitely worth seeing. This is a great day for me, because I've been waiting for a really awesome rock CD to be released, and I could feel it coming, but no albums have been able to match up to that, until now of course. I highly reccomend this to rock fans. You shouldn't be dissapointed at all.

On their first two albums, "Cold" (1998) and "13 Ways to Bleed Onstage" (2000), Cold's dark songs were slashed by deadly hooks and driven by body-punch beats, with lyrics whose passionate despair was broad enough to draw loyal and passionate, if somewhat limited, fan support.

May 13th 2003 marked the return of Cold, with their third full length release, "Year of the Spider," and with it they've finally hit the big time. "13 Ways To Bleed On Stage" sold only 6,000 copies worldwide since it's release, whereas "Year of the Spider" has already sold 110,000 copies in it's first week on sale.

Frontman Scooter Ward readily admits that the sound of the band has changed over the two years since their previous album. For their new album, the band have adopted a more accessible style, although the dark undertones of Cold's previous albums remain.

Album highlights include the opening track, "Remedy", as well as "Cure My Tragedy", "Rain Song", and "Sad Happy". Truth be told, there is little to seperate these songs from the others on the album - each and every song is a musical masterpiece, over-flowing with emotion, indicative of a band that has matured greatly since they first appeared in 1998.

Ward says of his band: "There's darkness in this music, but because of the inspiration I've gotten from my sister, and the trust that our fans have shown us, there's light too, and this sense that everything's going to be better."

Indeed, this is very true of Cold as a band - they keep on getting better and better. Cold's songs are so deeply touching that it is difficult not to develop an immediate affinity for the band. Those that criticise them may just simply find their songs too beautifully harrowing to accept.

One has to genuinely believe in Cold's music...and to trust in the outstanding quality of this album.