How far they've come in three albums.  When Cold first hit the scene with their self-titled debut, I didn't hold them in much regard.  I just knew that they were signed to Fred Durst's imprint label, their singer wore cowboy hats and their music was just kind of okay.  Hell, in the first single I heard from them, "Go Away," vocalist Scooter Ward sounded like a drunken Gavin Rossdale with a load of driveway gravel in his mouth.  For a second there, I thought that Bush had produced some sort of heavy album on a lark or something.  I later picked up the album from Z Rock, listened to it a couple times and didn't give it much thought after that.

   Then 13 Ways to Bleed On Stage came out, and I saw Cold going in a bit of a different direction.  Their image changed quite a bit, the music seemed a bit more earnest, and I could finally understand what the hell Scooter was saying.  "Wicked" was a fantastically catchy song, the music was more prominent and professional; it was just an all-around enjoyable listen.  I even got to see them on tour with Spineshank and Hed (P.E.), and they blew me away.  I had very high hopes for Year of the Spider when I first heard they were recording it.  What I didn't know was just how good Year... was going to be.

"Remedy" starts things off on a strong note, and Cold's straight ahead hard rock sound just keeps going through the whole album.  There are a couple of downturns, like during the Staind-esque ballad of "Wasted Years" and the just retarded "Kill the Music Industry," ("Hey guys, let's make a song about how stupid record labels are for signing bands!!!!!!!!!") but other than that, Year of the Spider is solid from front to back.  Because I like comparisons, I liken Year of the Spider to Unloco's Becoming I and Trust Co.'s The Lonely Position of Neutral, but with the songwriting sense that the other two bands wish they had.  Both Trust Co. and Unloco can write decent rock songs, but neither can come close to the lyrical wizardry of Ward, so they are left to falter in the dust.

Yes, Year of the Spider is totally formula rock (every song is basically verse-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-chorus-bridge-chorus), but it's done with the flair that's kept Ozzy going for the past decade or so.  The guitar solos from Kelly Hayes and Terry Balsamo (both departed) are well-placed and poignant, and Jeremy Marshall's bass and Sam McCandless's drums are good enough to pay attention to, but subdued enough to just provide rhythm. Even a potential weak point like "The Day Seattle Died," which is more or less a eulogy to Kurt Cobain and Layne Staley, is still perfomed with a flair for the poetic and isn't as smarmy as lyrics like, "We could all feel the shotgun hit the floor," sounds.  Cold has really matured into a really good hard rock band, right up there with the likes of Deftones and Floater.

Of course, being that Cold is a band I actually *like*, guitarists Terry Balsamo and Kelly Hayes have quit the band to join Evanescence and Allele, respectively, plus Scooter has been alleged to give Layne a run for his money on the heroin front, so it's hard to see what's coming next from these guys.  It's possible that they'll go back to the post-grunge sounds of Grundig, or they can continue on the path that's led them to 13 Ways to Bleed On Stage and Year of the Spider.  I hope that the future sees them on the latter course because it's been so much better to them than Grundig ever was.  I don't think the world needs another grunge band.

Rating: Rock by Numbers, v. Awesome out of 10