Cold
13 Ways to Bleed on Stage

THE REVIEW

The Cold from Jacksonville face the fateful second album with the release of this enigmatic, cavernous, and irritated 13 Ways To Bleed On Stage.

The radical changes made to the lineup prove successful with the addition of guitarist Terry Balsamo (a well-known performer already alongside Limp Bizkit on stage and later with Evanescence) and with the leader Scooter Ward's decision to dedicate his energies solely to writing the lyrics and the microphone, thus abandoning the rhythm guitar role he previously adopted.

The adjective chosen to describe the album is, in my opinion, fitting, as the crypticity of the lyrics shows various interpretations and, above all, different moods within the tracks, which considerably fascinate the listener.

The beginning of the new millennium sees the birth and spread of many bands like Cold and Staind, which combine new approaches with the already familiar method heard in the episodes of the past decade, pushing the boundaries a little. In my opinion, the choice to tackle composition in this way does not always succeed.

Thirteen are the emotions and (re)sentiments hidden in the tormented soul that lies behind the pen: anxiety, submission, alienation. The anger towards the drug that captures but also the feeling of inadequacy in the many episodes that bring to mind that shadow, which sooner or later, rests on the notes of the songs despite the search for light.

And then you turn the pages and come across this drum intro accompanied by the feigned goodness that will soon dissolve, throwing away the mask:

I can taste your innocence, young and sweet like mother made ya.

No One, with Sierra Swan in the chorus, in search of authentic faces, and the finale Bleed with Aaron Lewis which is a true dedication/prayer to music (a track that in fact proves to be the simplest and most composed of the entire work, valid).

And the style of the new entry, with those intermittently sick notes, opens the dance in the scenario of a post-apocalyptic desolation with End Of The World and all its reminiscences of drunkenness, fury, and passion in search of new life.

The substantial difference between this album and the debut branded Cold is the composure with which the journey is completed. Simply a bad dream that ends with a bitter awakening, real and palpable.