Review Summary: A great debut album that still holds a spot as one of Cold's best albums.
Cold is a band that got a lot of help from
Limp Bizkit frontman, Fred Durst, to become a truly recognized band. Of course that immediately turns many people away from them, which is a huge mistake if you're a fan of good music in general. Cold is a band that is heavy enough to please metalheads and soft enough to also attract a wider audience. Personally, this was a band I always tried to stay away from simply because I have always been more of a fan of metal, but after finally picking up this album, I discovered that it doesn't always have to be loud and fast to get a message across. This album is a perfect example of that.
The album starts off with the track "Go Away" which is a perfect start to the album. It gives the listener a taste of the heavier parts of this album with the downtuned guitars and verses but also shows off the more mainstream sounding parts of Cold's sound with the chorus. It was also a single, along with track number two, "Give". "Give" is easily one of the best tracks on the album, it is similiar to "Go Away" in the the way Scooter sings and the guitar tone but it moves along at a faster pace. The next track is "Ugly" which is one of the better known tracks on the album. It is a slow, sad song, filled with emotion that you can feel the second Scooter opens his mouth and sings "All the world loves things of beauty and intrigue, those two things i've never had one". Track four is "Everyone Dies" which starts off with a good intro that is mostly bass and drums. After that it just turns into another good track, nothing special. "Strip Her Down" is the next song which is my personal favorite. At 6:13, its the longest track. Its similar to "Ugly", its slow and emotional, probably about a girlfriend that Scooter felt like he treated to well when she was cheating. The next track is "Insane". It is another good track that sounds similar to the first two tracks.
After that comes another personal favorite, "Goodbye Cruel World". It starts out with some nice drum work and then everything kicks in and it sounds like its going to be a happier song until Scooter sings, "I saw your mother shoot your father, killed herself the same". The next three tracks, "Serial Killer", "Superstar", and "The Switch", are probably the weakest section of the album. "Superstar" is definitely the best of the three though. And finally, the closing track, "Makes Her Sick". One of the best on the album without a doubt, fast paced and everything just meshes together well in this particular track.
This is an album that I continuously come back to, over and over. After listening to this cd over and over, I can safely say that it doesn't matter if your a metalhead that wants to take a break from metal and listen to something a little more mellow or a pop fan that wants to broaden your horizons and embrace rock music, you will love this album if you give it a chance. The instrumentation isn't going to blow anybody away or neither is the singer's voice but when they are put together it forms a great mix of emotion and catchiness. This album is a perfect example of well written lyrics, good song arrangement, and painful experiences from the past coming together to make one of the best rock albums of the late 90's.
Standout Tracks:
Give
Ugly
Strip Her Down
Goodbye Cruel World