(Translated from my original Italian text by ChatGPT and Piero Scaruffi)

Cold are a band from the Korn and Deftones scene, hailing from Jacksonville, Florida. Scott Ward’s cavernous crooning and Kelly Hayes’ gothic guitar tones leave a lasting mark on their debut album, Cold (Flip, 1998). The first two tracks define the style: Go Away exemplifies how hellish atmospheres can make room for melodic openings in the style of Nirvana; the gargantuan riffs and sinister tribalism of Give hark back to the dark punk of Siouxsee Sioux. Everyone Dies echoes the allure of the first track, Goodbye Cruel World that of the second.
A couple of acoustic ballads, enhanced with instrumental diversions, break the pace and offer brief moments of respite. Much of the album’s appeal is due to the arrangement (i.e., the producers, two sly veterans). Electronic effects animate a sound that might otherwise risk being too gray and heavy.

Scooter Ward has grown as a vocalist and a songwriter on Something Wicked This Way Comes (Interscope, 2000), also known as 13 Ways To Bleed Onstage (Interscope, 2000). While the sound maintains a center of balance near Soundgarden, the album runs the gamut from Big Black to Cure.