Review Summary: Compared to Cold's previous releases this is far inferior but it's really not a bad album at all. Scooter Ward wears his heart on his sleeve like almost no other frontman can...
Who would've guessed that after the success of "Year of the Spider" and the single "Stupid Girl" Cold would be neglected and dropped from their label? It's the same 'one-hit-wonder' story except Cold actually has talent. After a few years, a stint in rehab for singer Scooter Ward and the loss of their two guitarists Terry Balsemo and Kelly Hayes, Cold has returned with the melodic and emotional 'A Different Kind of Pain'.
Cold faithful with notice the absence of the catchy, spooky guitar riffs that fueled '13 Ways to Bleed on Stage' and 'Year of the Spider' for a more generic, power chord driven sound and the presence of more piano and power ballads. But what sets Cold apart from the generic bands of today is Scooter Ward. He has a very distinctive voice and deep, poetic lyrics. While most lyricists today write about slitting their wrists and suicide, Scooter Ward sings of redemption. To say 'A Different Kind of Pain' is a redemption record isn't that far from the truth. His band, which was poised for big success, was dropped from their label and became a revolving door for guitarists. To top it all off, Scoot went to rehab, broke off his engagement with his fiance and his sister was diagnosed with cancer.
Onto the music, "Back Home" kicks of the album with a cool palm muted riff until the power chords take over. 10 seconds in, you can tell that this isn't going to be any other Cold record. Scooter Ward has never sounded better and his lyrics have matured since '13 Ways' and 'Year of the Spider'. "Feel It In Your Heart" is nothing too special and "Another Pill" sounds too much like it. "Anatomy of a Tidal Wave's" chorus encircles you in a melody that will make you sing or hum along to the lyrics. After the heavy and dramatic end to "Anatomy" we come to the title track which starts off slow with rain and wind setting the mood until a piano comes to take over. "Is someone there to hold you/ Is someone there to take you away from me" could be about a neglectful relationship (maybe the one with his ex-fiance) or about his sister's bout with cancer. The title track easily could've been one of Cold's best if only after 3 and a half minutes it didn't sound like it was all chorus. The next four songs all follow the same pattern and also seem to be all chorus. the first single "Happens All The Time" features an almost 'old school' Cold riff while "When Heaven's Not Far Away" is the most hard rocking song on the record along with "Back Home". "God's Song" seems to be more like Coldplay than Cold during the verses. The chorus may surprise you but it's nothing special. "When Angels Fly Away" should've been a bigger hit. It has excellent war driven lyrics and one of the best melodies out there. "Tell Me Why" is a power ballad about a Cold fan's abusive mother like "Sad Happy" from "Year of the Spider" but the lyrics seem to be forced here. After almost 40 minutes of great melodies and lyrics of pain, loss and redemption we come to a close with "Ocean". Like the tracks at the middle of the album, "Ocean" is all chorus but on this track the chorus is fantastic. Greatest way to end this album.
'A Different Kind of Pain' is an album that Cold faithful with either hate or love. when listening to this album it's not hard to think of this album as the first The Killer and the Star album rather than Cold. There are no "Strip Her Downs" or "Just Got Wickeds" or lines like "Wanna love ya/ Wanna bug ya" but it's not a bad album at all. It's just not as good as Cold previous albums. Almost all of the choruses sound the same and the music is almost generic but what really saves this record is Scooter Ward's lyrics and his excellent vocals. He just proved that he can be put (or forced) into the limelight and carry a band on his shoulders to make a pretty good album. I bet Fred Durst couldn't do that. Take it or leave it, hate it or love it, this is Scooter Ward's best vocal performance yet.
Top Tracks:
Back Home
Anatomy of a Tidal Wave
A Different Kind of Pain
Happens All the Time
When Heaven's Not Far Away
When Angels Fly Away
Ocean
