Cold (band)
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| Cold | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Jacksonville, Florida |
| Country | United States |
| Years active | 1996 – 2006 |
| Genres | Hard Rock Post-Grunge Alternative Rock Alternative Metal Nu-Metal |
| Labels | Geffen Records Lava Records |
| Past members | Scooter Ward Sam McCandless Matt Loughran Jeremy Marshall Zachary Gilbert |
| Website(s) | Official site |
Cold was a Floridian five-piece post-grunge / hard rock band, based in Jacksonville. With the release of their sophomore debut studio album Cold in 1998, the band quickly became known for its angsty lyrics and vocalist Scooter Ward's distinctive voice. On November 17, 2006, Ward announced on MySpace that, after a period of uncertainty since that February, the group had decided to disband.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
[edit] Cold's career
Cold, who at the time were called Grundig, formed in 1995 with the line-up of Scooter Ward (vocals), Sam McCandless (drums), Jeremy Marshall (bass) and Matt Loughran (guitar). The band, initially based in Jacksonville, moved to Atlanta hoping to get a break in the industry. During this time, Matt Loughran left the band and was replaced by Sean Lay. Kelly Hayes then joined the band, and they all later returned to Florida.
Following Cold's progress in the Jacksonville scene was local Fred Durst. Impressed by what he had heard, he invited Ward to record two acoustic tracks, "Check Please" and "Ugly". The two demos recorded were passed on to producer Ross Robinson, who was also impressed by what he had heard, leading Cold to record their debut release titled, Cold, which was released in 1997. The album was a minor success under Fred Durst's A&M Records, which was later taken over by Geffen Records.
Following the underground success of Cold, Geffen financed their sophomore effort titled, 13 Ways to Bleed on Stage, which was released in 2000. The album is often considered to be their best work to date. Local guitarist Terry Balsamo joined the group to play alongside Kelly Hayes. Subsequently, four singles were released from the album in "Just Got Wicked", "End of the World", "No One" and "Bleed". Each single made an impact on the U.S. Mainstream Rock charts. The album has been certified Gold in the U.S., for sales over 500,000.
In 2003, Cold was invited by Midway Games, creators of the video game "Psi-Ops", to make a music video titled, "With My Mind". They also performed at E3 to promote the game, however the song was never released on any of their albums.
The song "Sad Happy" by Cold may be a reference to the album of the name "Happy Sad" by Tim Buckley.
With the success of 13 Ways to Bleed on Stage, Geffen financed their third major album titled, Year of the Spider, which was released in 2003. The album has been to date the band’s most commercially successful album, when it debuted at #3 on the Billboard Album charts, with over 101,000 copies of the album sold in its first week of release. The album’s first single, "Stupid Girl", has been the only Cold single to crack the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at #87. Following the release of the album’s second single "Suffocate" to radio stations, plans were set-forth for a video to accompany the song. However, for reasons unknown, Geffen refused to make the video, or promote the album any further. The stalemate with the label led to frustrations within the band, and in late 2003 Terry Balsamo departed, replacing Ben Moody in Evanescence. Balsamo was later replaced by ex-Darwin's Waiting Room axe-man Eddie Randini.
In 2004, guitarist Kelly Hayes quit the band, citing that "not feeling the music" as his main justification for leaving the band [citation needed]. This was despite Ward's earlier comments saying Hayes wanted a break from the music scene. A week after Kelly Hayes' departure, he officially confirmed his position as the guitarist in Jacksonville's hard rock outfit, Allele, a move that had been in the works from the time Terry Balsamo left the band. The band made efforts to release another single, "Wasted Years" from Year of the Spider. However, Geffen stayed true to their earlier promise by not financing or promoting the album any further (despite it later being certified Gold). Subsequently, in mid-2004 the band asked to be released from the label. This proved ironic, as a track was released on the album titled "Kill the Music Industry", in which the band blasted the predictability and marketing of major record labels.
By September 2004, the band was picked up by Atlantic Records (Lava Records division), where they set about recording a new album. Produced by Elvis Baskette and slated to be released in December 2004, Cold suffered another blow with the loss of their third guitarist in almost a year; Eddie Rendini who was fired from the band for undisclosed reasons. The new album was scheduled be released in spring of 2005. Before releasing the album, Cold went back in the studio to record several more tracks. The album was originally to be titled And A Sad Song Lives On but was later changed to The Calm that Killed the Storm, and the suspected release date was moved to September 13, 2005.
In June 2005, the band's official website noted yet another change to the new album's title, changing it to A Different Kind of Pain. "Happens All the Time" was the first single and video released. The album debuted at #26 on the Billboard Albums charts, with more than 36,000 copies sold – a relative disappointment considering the success of the previous two albums. The title track was released as the second single, but Atlantic did not fund another video. The majority of A Different Kind of Pain was written in Ward's sister's bedroom. His sister has had a long battle with cancer, and is said to have been the root of the subject matter on the album.
On February 27, 2006 a hacker posing as Ward left a message on Cold's official message board saying the band had "bowed out gracefully" and disbanded. Ward apologized for any comments the impostor made and announced that Cold wasn’t going to disband, but rather go on hiatus to work on side-projects.
A long, overdue DVD is now in the works according to Ward, who is compiling footage captured throughout the years of Cold's existence [1]. As a parting gift, three unreleased tracks were posted on the Internet: A demo version and a Fred Durst produced version of "Sting Me", an old song that was never released and "The Monster's Gone", a B-side from the Different Kind of Pain sessions. A piano version of "Wasted Years" was also released for free download on the band's MySpace page.
On their MySpace page, Ward announced that he and McCandless have started a side-project called When November Falls. On November 17, 2006, the band later announced on MySpace that they had decided to disband, they posted this message on their myspace page.
A Message From Scooter Ward After playing together for over 20 years, Cold have decided to disband. We had a great career and we thank the Cold Army for all their support and love throughout our span. The members of Cold are greatful for the music we made and the accomplishments we have. We were blessed to make music and let it be heard.
[edit] Band members
[edit] Final
- Scooter Ward – Vocals, Guitar, Piano
- Jeremy Marshall – Bass
- Sam McCandless – Drums
[edit] Previous
- Sean Lay
- Terry Balsamo – (Left 2003)
- Kelly Hayes – (Left 2004)
- Eddie "The Kidd" Rendini – (Left 2004)
- Mike Booth – (Sessional, left 2004)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums and EPs
| Album cover | Album information |
|---|---|
 |
Cold
|
 |
Oddity EP
|
 |
13 Ways to Bleed on Stage
|
 |
Year of the Spider
|
 |
A Different Kind of Pain
|
[edit] Singles
| Year | Song | US Hot 100 | U.S. Modern Rock | U.S. Main- stream Rock | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | "Go Away" | - | - | - | Cold |
| 1998 | "Give" | - | - | - | Cold |
| 2000 | "Just Got Wicked" | - | - | 25 | 13 Ways to Bleed on Stage |
| 2001 | "End of the World" | - | - | 24 | 13 Ways to Bleed on Stage |
| 2001 | "No One | - | 13 | 17 | 13 Ways to Bleed on Stage |
| 2001 | "Bleed" | - | - | 21 | 13 Ways to Bleed on Stage |
| 2002 | "Gone Away" | - | 5 | 13 | WWE Tough Enough 2 soundtrack Year of the Spider (Hidden Track) |
| 2003 | "Stupid Girl" | 87 | 6 | 4 | Year of the Spider |
| 2003 | "Suffocate" | - | - | 17 | Year of the Spider |
| 2005 | "Happens All the Time" | - | 29 | 21 | A Different Kind of Pain |
| 2005 | "A Different Kind of Pain" | - | - | 35 | A Different Kind of Pain |
