Customer Reviews

Crossfade

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

This is a great band. Although I live in their home town of Columbia and I did hear about them back in their Sugardaddy Superstar days, I only actually heard about this CD through Taxi - which is the independant A&R company that got them signed. And I have to say, they deserve every bit of the success that will surely come their way. They are absolutely terrific songwriters with catchy hooks, great musicianship, and smooth dead-on vocals that really come through on this CD. I have read the other reviews that say this band lacks originality and, I have to say that I don't totally disagree on Tracks 5-10. But it doesn't really bother me because it seems to me that the band is still trying to find themselves, and they certainly have a lot of talent to work with. So let them be a little unoriginal at first, as long as they progress as they grow. That said, tracks 1-4 really define this band. These are, by far, the strongest tracks on the CD featuring an original songwriting style that, if drawn upon for future albums, should give them the long musical careers that they deserve. On tracks 5-10, there are obvious influences from other bands - most notably, in my opinion, P.O.D. and Linkin Park. Again, I think this is OK for their first release because the songs are just that good. My complaint is that they don't pull off the styles as well as the original bands that defined them. For example, on a few tracks, they try to mix a bit of rap rock into the choruses - a task better left to Linkin Park or Limp Bizkit. This vocalist just doesn't have the right style for it. But, all of that aside, the talent and songwriting ability of this band shines through any "start-up" problems that they may have. And if they continue to draw upon the totally original and self-defining style that they establish on tracks 1-4, their future looks very bright indeed. So, overall, for the songs, I would give it 5 stars.

So why the 4 star rating? Well, it has everything to do with the production. The CD was recorded in their basement studio and the record label picked it up, re-engineered it, and released it. And although they obviously did a good job on the original basement recording, and the mixing engineers up in Canada did an even better job on the re-engineering, I think this band deserves better. The album features some VERY powerful songs. And powerful songs deserve a powerful recording. Because it was recorded in a home studio, the drums sound flat and the mix sounds a bit lacking. Don't get me wrong, everyone did a great job and the recording is immensely listenable. But I just think that the record company could have sprung for the few extra bucks and put these guys into a real studio. With songs like these, it would pay them back twenty-fold. I know the recording industry isn't in the best shape right now, but they should still be willing to invest in their talent. And I think they did these guys an injustice by not giving them the best recording they could possibly deliver.

My second problem has to do with the length of the CD. With 10 songs at just over 3 minutes a piece, the entire album clocks in at just over 34 minutes. That's fine for a demo CD, but not for a major label release. With the rise of music downloads, consumers expect to pay NO MORE than $0.99 per song. At a list price of $12.98, this album just doesn't add up financially - especially given the fact that the recording was done in a basement. Again, this is not the band's fault. It's just that consumers deserve better and, by not delivering it to us, the label is putting the band at a disadvantage.

So, overall, this is a great band with a great album that should have been longer and better produced. But the future looks bright as long as the record label gives them the proper support that they deserve. Let's hope for more next time...

Well Crossfade may just be another modern rock Alt Metal band but that doesn't make them bad. Sure, they don't really add anything new to the music out now but that shouldn't take away from the music itself. All I know is from what I heard they have some really good tracks. I first heard the track "Cold" on the radio and it was just one of those songs that I love instantly. I just had to go out and get the album. After getting the album It turned out to be pretty good. I pretty much enjoyed everything on here. Although, my favorite tracks would have to be "Cold", "Starless", "Colors", and "Dead Skin". Here's the track ratings...

1. Starless - 9.5/10

2. Cold - 10/10

3. So Far Away - 9.5/10

4. Colors - 10/10

5. Death Trend Setta - 10/10

6. The Deep End - 9/10

7. No Giving Up - 9.5/10

8. Dead Skin - 10/10

9. Disco - 7/10

10. The Unknown - 9/10

Overall: 93% A-

Sure, it's not really anything new but It is good and a nice listen. I enjoyed this album very much and am very curious to see what Crossfade has done with their new album that was just released. Anyway, anyone who's into this style of music will probably end up finding a bunch of other good tracks for their music collection.

Crossfade seriously rock!. They should stay with their own style tho (no more disco and Death Trend Setta please!!) Here's my song by song breakdown...

1. Starless - Alot of variety on the song. Great chorus. Hated the "Rap" part in the end at first but it kinda builds on u. 9
2. Cold - First song i heard from the album. Made me get the album. 9.5
3. So Far Away - I love how this song starts. One of the best songs off this album. 10
4. Colors - its good but "surely not the best". The first three songs are much better 7.5
5. Death Trend Setta - Too familiar and too crappy. Although i love that opening riff, up until the singing.. Personally did not like. 5
6. Deep End - Great song with a great chorus. 8.5
7. No Giving Up - Nice opening. Solid song. 9
8. Dead Skin - Softer than others. Ok song. 7.5
9. Disco - Too "disturbed". Not the best song but not as sucky as ppl say. 6
10. The Unknown - Great way to end the album. Too redundant tho 8

So songs on the "Best Of" playlist would be:
- So Far Away
- Starless (Tho i still dislike that rapping part in the end)
- Cold
- No Giving Up
- The Deep End

This is an overall good album. Very much worth the thirteen bucks. Also check out Lo-Pro's debut, as well as Breaking Benjamin...

1.Starless- Great song to open with, its crazy weird but I love it. 5/5
2.Cold- Love this song its what got me to listen to the band in the first place. 5/5
3.So Far Away- Its a good song, I like how it opens, just a good song to listen too. 4.5/5
4.Colors- They have it as a hit on the Cd cover? Well really its good but I happen to Think starless and So Far Away are better. 4.3/5
5.Death Trend Setta- Well its ok, little rap sound sometimes, when hes singing, I happen to like it a little. 3.5/5 Weakess song, Little different.
6.The Deep End- Now I happen to think this a great song, like the song of the insturments and the overall voice of the band.. 4.4/5
7.No GIving Up- Reminds me of Pod when they did satellite-start of it, Good song. 4/5
8.Dead Skin- Like the over all song, love the lyrics kind of hint of dark... 4.8/5
9.Disco- This is another song that was like what the?? Kind of speed, like hes raping but notreally trying. Its ok but not what I thought would have been on this cd... 4/5
10.The Unknown- This is one of the best songs on the cd, great way to end the cd with this song, I listen to it every time i need to get past the disco song, haha which is why i like this song, Its slow and Cool sounding, with a taste of dark... 5/5

Crossfade had a pretty big year in 2004, thanks mainly to their catchy hit "Cold" that just kept getting bigger and bigger. They seem to have come out of nowhere, with a self-produced album recorded back in 2003 while the band went under a different name -- Sugardaddy Superstars. This ten track debut attempts to encompass a variety of genres. Crossfade bends between melodic modern rock (in the same vein as Staind) and rap-rock (sounding a bit like Saliva), and as far as this debut goes, these sounds mix about as well as oil and water. No doubt, it's a commendable effort from a bunch of guys who did it themselves, but the album doesn't deliver on a promise that the excellent "Cold" made -- quite frankly, the rest of the album is just weak by comparison. It's easy to see why "Cold" is so big, it's catchy, it's something everyone can relate to and it hits all the right notes. "So Far Away" is almost up to par, and "Starless" would be great if it wasn't afraid to bust open in all the right places, making for a very weak start. "Disco" and "Death Trend Setta" are instant throwaways, cheesy, stale rap-metal at the best. "Dead Skin" and "The Unknown," the mellowist moments, are about the only two tracks I find myself coming back for more. These two songs definitely get better with each listen, but the rest of the album doesn't. If you loved "Cold," I can't promise this will live up to it. It's got a few good songs, but overall, a very disappointing effort. I think the band will get better though when they make another album. I mean, this was self-produced, and on that merit, it's good. But they just can't hang with so many bands that do this sound better right now.

People are fickle and stupid. Little do people realize the amazing talent that this band contains. These guys recorded the album in their garage, and then Sony said that the recordings were good enough for the album so they only made minor adjustments. That doesn't happen folks. There are plenty of people out there that think they're on top of the music world cause they watch MTV, but MTV is about as anti-music as you can get. These guys are the real deal. Most likely the best vocals I have ever heard from a band, and Linkin Park could take a lesson from these guys on transitions. Buy it, I promise you will enjoy.

I had never really heard of this band until i heard "Cold" on the radio. I was impressed by the song but i didn't want to buy the album yet because of only one single. The only reason I bought this album is because I got tickets to a Shinedown/Crossfade concert and I decided to get pumped for the show buy buying Crossfade, since I already have Shinedown. I'M SO GLAD I BOUGHT THIS ALBUM. Even though it may not be the most original in material it's definatly worth the $9.99 I spent on it. If you're fans of Shinedown, Disturbed, and or P.O.D i would recommend you buy this immediatly!

This is a brilliant album if you're into the type of melodic, yet hard rock similar to bands like 12 Stones, Chevelle, Closure, Breaking Benjamin, Creed, Staind etc. then buy this you will not be disappointed.

Track Ratings:

Starless - 9: Great way to start the album.

Cold - 10: Reason I heard of Crossfade

So Far Away - 9: Brilliant beginning and you hear the first scream on the album in this song.

Colors - 10: Brilliant. Full stop.

Death Trend Setta - 8: Didn't agree with this at first but it grew on me thanks to the Chorus

The Deep End - 10: Excellent

No Giving Up - 10: Hard and jarring yet melodic

Dead Skin - 10: Softest Song on the album - very heart-felt

Disco - 9: Pre-chorus does it justice, but not as special as the others

The Unknown - 9: Good way to finish the album, acoustic with ever-changing guitar technique

This cd was ACTUALLY created 3 or 4 years ago. Crossfade used to be a different band and had to change their name when they signed to a record deal. Columbia decided to bring them into the studio and have them do all the tracks on their self-produced cd. So in actuality these songs were all done when some of the bands mentioned in the previous reviews were just blowing up...so give it some slack. The songs are well written and I love every song on the cd. They left some good songs off the re-release, but hey...maybe we'll see them next cd. Crossfade is an energetic and hard working band and deserve EVERY penny they get. Don't think these guys sit around. They tour and play as much as they can and I'm sure the year and a half it took to get signed and throw out a cd for us was stressful. AMAZING cd.

"Cold" off of this new albumn is the absolute epitome of greatness. The lyrics are the best and the song itself just takes the listener to another world. To Chase-maybe you should listen to see if this reminds you of yourself...
Crossfade may not be the highest ranked group yet, but with more hits like this they are sure to kick ass!!
Before long they will contend with Staind, Cold, Nickelback, and Shinedown. Great CD!!