"Cold" came into the world under a different name, "Grundig." It all began when vocalist, Scooter Ward and drummer Sam McCandless started jamming together during the mid-eighties. A few garage bands later, they met bass player Jeremy Marshall. The three moved to Atlanta, where they met guitarist, Kelley Hayes, and "Grundig" was born. Ward became dissatisfied with the straight ahead metal the band played, leaving in 1996 to work on his own acoustic material. He found a friend and a fan in Fred Durst of "Limp Bizkit," who played Ward's demo for producer Ross Robinson. Ward rejoined his band with a recording contract and a new name, "Cold."

"Just go away," words barely audible, leads into the rumbling bass on the first track, "Go Away." The lead vocal sinks into the rumble, surfacing as a muted scream for the refrain. The guitar work has an alien sound, floating over the bass, sometimes sinking into it. The song ends with echo and distortion. It's a muddy sound, giving the feeling of being mired down. "Super," is a bit more melodic, with Ward's vocals a deep growl. Out of the murk, a film out-take emerges. "I think you're one fucked up individual. Come to think of it, you are one fucked up individual." Their sound fits that description too. The bass grumble fades out with the lead guitar.

"Ugly" approaches a delicate softness. The voice at the beginning sounds
submerged under water. Echoed vocals fade in with acoustic guitar, creating a dirty sexuality. Synthesizer and vocals back it, again under water. The song has a mythic quality, revealing a sense of artistry lacking in the first two songs. It's very unsettling. Distorted guitar begins to overlay the whole thing, building it, louder and louder. Distortion closes to a fade.

Ward's vocals are difficult to understand. This is particularly true on
"Everyone Dies."  Downbeat words and music form a depressed gloom and doom atmosphere. An unintelligible movie out-take once again interrupts the flow. "Cold" returns to the softness found on "Ugly" for the fifth track, "Strip Her Down." Acoustic guitar and vocals prevail through most of the song, at times overlaid by maddened, distorted guitar. Toward the end the distortion overwhelms, forcing the vocal to a deep guttural scream. "Insane," opens with a rumbling, reverberating bass and guitar that irritates the eardrums. It's actually painful to listen.

Frantic drumming fades in to open "Goodbye Cruel World." The rumble of bass overlays with the lead vocal, while quirky guitar work completes the package. The low throttling bass gets under the listener's skin, like an
itch that can't be scratched. I wanted to push it away. Guitar work at the
beginning of "Serial Killer" sounds a lot like "Our Lady Peace." Howling, discordant vocals leave one off balance. Listening to this music is difficult and painful - deliberately so. Muffled vocals drag one down into the swampy sound.

"Superstar" sports a low tuba sound mixing with acoustic strumming. Distorted, echoed vocals drift in among the grating instruments and whirring synthesizer. "Switch" begins with a vast guitar landscape, quickly replaced by the grunge from the other songs, as the tempo increases. Drums, distorted vocals and guitar crash into the vista, overwhelming it. "Makes Her Sick," is more of the same. At this point, each song blurs into the one before it.

This album is a depressing experience. The instrumentation and vocal styles are so heavy it's difficult not to be weighed down while listening, and far more angst than I can handle. Recommended only for those seeking blown eardrums and therapy.