Customer Reviews

Year of the Spider [Limited Edition w/ Bonus DVD]

5 star:		(180)
4 star:		(37)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Cold are a band that have been bubbling under the mainstream for the longest time now. They are well-known for their modern-rock radio hits like "No One," "Bleed/Thirteen" and "Gone Away," but have yet to reach their true peak. With 'Year Of The Spider,' Cold come through, both commercially and creatively. With a sound that is accessible, yet unique, Cold are definitely one of the few modern-rock bands that will be around, long after their biggest hits have been played out. "Stupid Girl," the first single, co-written by Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo, is a nice change of pace for the band. Not only is it catchy, but it is one of the few relatively bright spots on the album. Other songs like "Remedy" and "Suffocate" are some nice, heavy additions to Cold's catalogue, and will no doubt fare well as singles themselves. However, what I have discovered with this CD is that the further you go into it, the more emotional and thoughtful it gets. "Sad Happy" is sort of a revenge song about a fan who was raped by her dad constantly; "Rain Song" is about a close-friend committing suicide. There is also more of a religious theme flowing through this album than in previous releases, mainly evidenced by the track "Cure My Tragedy." This album is dark, personal, honest, passionate and everything in between. Cold have yet to put out a bad album. Everything they do is 100% quality, and as a longtime fan, I am happy to see they are finally getting the recognition they deserve. The limited edition comes with a satisfying DVD, which contains the music video & making of the music video for "Stupid Girl," several live performances (a few acoustic), interviews with all the band members, making of the album and more. Definitely a worthy purchase for any Cold fan. As for the album itself, everyone will love it. Cold fans, old and new, can all appreciate it. Kudos to Cold for putting out something inspiring and thoughtful, all the while managing to be successful.

I am absolutely AMAZED by Cold's new album, "The Year of the Spider." While I enjoyed their last album, I have to say that this one is ten times better. "The Year of the Spider" is a powerful and addicting album from start to finish.

These guys have improved on every front when it comes to their music. The lyrics are emotionally charged and sincere, leaving you humming the words in your head even long after the CD is done playing. The guitar and drum playing has also improved, making every song flow in the best possible way. And all of the 13 songs that appear on this album are EXCELLENT.

While I love every song on the CD, there are a couple that I listen to the most. Those would be "suffocate," "cure my tragedy," "wasted years," "rain song," "change the world," and "the day seattle died." "Cure my tragedy" and "wasted years" have to be the two most powerful and emotionally charged songs on the album.

If you are a fan of Cold's past albums, then chances are that you will fall in love with this one as well. I have to say that I am quite impressed. This could be my favorite CD to come out this year so far. If you're looking for honest and sincere music that can actually speak to you, then look no further. Because you have found it. Cold's "Year of the Spider" is this band's best work as of now.

Cold has done it again. They never dissapoint. The songwriting is real mature and a great step up from 13 or Cold. This is possibly one of the two best cd's for 2003 (The other one being Staind's 14 Shades of Grey). Here is a rundown of the tracks.
1. Remedy- Great cd opener. A little weak in the middle but overall a worthy opener. 9.9/10.
2. Suffocate- One of the best songs on the cd. The girl singing only adds to the song and not detracts like one reviewer thinks. 10/10.
3. Cure My Tragedy (A Letter To God)- Beautiful guitars and Scooter is top notch on the singing. 10/10.
4. Stupid Girl- Their first single and not a bad one at that. Usually when groups release their first single, it is [crummy]. Not with Cold. Every track could be a single but it is great that this song is the first. 10/10.
5. Don't Belong- The song that most relates to my life so i take pride in this song. Everything about it is excellent. 10/10.
6. Wasted Years- Great song with great lyrics. 9.5/10.
7. Whatever You Became- Another hit. You can't go wrong with this song. 10/10.
8. Sad Happy- Possible the best song on this cd. Very emotional and you can totally relate, no matter what. 100/10
9. Rain Song- Good Guitars and drums. The lyrics are great. Really pulls on the emotions. I love this type of music from Cold. 100/10.
10. The Day Seattle Died- The memories of Kurt Cobain and Layne Stanley will live on in the hearts of each and every music fan. Cold did possibly the BEST tribute of all time to two of the greatest, most talented signers of all time. 100/10.
11. Change The World- Good song. 'Nuff said. 10/10
12. Black Sunday- Same here. 'Nuff said. 10/10.
13. Kill The ... Music Industry/Gone Away- The main song is ok but what is great about it is 18 minutes into the song and that is Gone Away. Truly Magic. 100/10.

Cold is possibly one of the two best rock groups out there today (Staind being the other group). Scooter is a inspiration to songwriters everywhere especially me. Keep up the good work guys.

Track by track, here we go.

1. Remedy - Really explosive opening track. Beautiful guitars, beautiful bass, beautiful voices. Not my all time fav, but a great song. Really catchy too. 9.5/10

2. Suffocate - My least favorite song on the album. There is a girl singing after scoother sings and it kinda ruins it for me. This song isn't bad, just not my favorite. 9/10

3. Cure my Tragedy (A Letter to God) - A great song. Its quiet in the beginning, but then it somewhat explodes into a beautiful chorus. Scooter's vocals are great on this song. I also love the guitar part near the end where he goes on the small strings. 10/10

4. Stupid Girl - The first single from the album. Co-written by one of my main guys Rivers Cuomo of Weezer. This song is addictive, and is easy to see why its the first single. 10/10

5. Don't Belong - I really like this song. I really like the chorus of this song. I like the message behind this song. Listen to and and you'll know what I mean. 9.5/10

6. Wasted Years - A very sad song, but a good example of what Cold is. One of the best on the album. 10/10

7. Whatever you became - Not my favorite. Has a neat ending though. 9/10

8. Sad Happy - One of my 3 favorites. I really like the guitar riffs and Scooter's vocals on this one. The chorus is really strong, lyrically and musically. 11/10

9. Rain Song - One of my 3 favorites. I am addicted to the chorus of this song. Scooter has a real talent when it comes to singing and songwriting. This song sounds sad, and honestly, the song sounds like it is raining. A really powerful song. Scooter said he was motivated to write this when he remembered that three of his friends had died in a house fire, and it rained shortly after the fire. 11/10

10. The Day Seattle Died - This song is a tribut Kurt Cobain. This song is pretty cool. There is some heavy bass action during the song. It sounds pretty cool. The guitars sound kinda funky though. Then they tear ... atthe chorus, as usual ^.^ 9.5/10

11. Change the World - I am addicted to the beginning of this song. Sam tears it up on the drums and there is a haunting "OOOoooOOOOOOooooo" and it sounds really neat. I like the guitar riffs on the rest of the song. Also strong lyrically. 9.5/10

12. Black Sunday - Acoustic and electric guitar teamed up to create this beauty. I don't listen to this song much, usually because I skip to the next song... 9/10

13a. Kill the Music Industry - The heaviest song on the CD. A headbanger's song. The gutars and bass rip it up as Sam lays down the beats and Scoot screams "Kill the ...Music Industry!" A really pumped song, but Fast Forward to listen to.. 9.5/10

13b. Gone Away [Hidden Track] - My all-time favorite Cold song. I love everything about this song. The guitar, the vocals, everything. This song is really emotional, and I love it. I also love the guitar solo, done in the video on Kelly's Spider Guitar. The best Cold song ever. 100/10

This is one of my all-time favorite CDs, by one of my all-time favorite bands, Cold. I bought this the day it came out. May 13, 2003. Buy it today!

It is a shame I didn't get this album when it first came out, but I suppose any time is better than no time at all. Allow me to go into how I actually FINALLY got turned on to Cold's unique, and spooky sound. Let's just say that a friend of mine showed me a link to a fan made "Animated Music Video" or AMV from a place called YouTube.com, it was one set to a Rammstein song, and it did kick ass. However, I felt like seeing what was on there for Fatal Frame, so I typed that in, watched a few of the videos there, wasn't exactly impressed. But then a video titled with the caption "Pray For Rain" tantalized me.

What was it you ask? It was a video using in-game clips from Fatal Frame III: The Tormented set to "Rain Song", which happened to be on this album and I didn't realize it at the time. As I listened to the song and watched the video, I was just completely and utterly blown away. Not only by the music, but by how this person was able to capture the emotion of both the music and the video at the same time. I was absolutely moved to tears by the whole thing.

I immediately contacted this person and thanked them for making that video, and finally really getting me into Cold. I used to think of them as "just another Staind clone", and lemme tell you folks, I HATE Staind, so essentially these guys were associated with them in my books (they are good friends after all), but oh how wrong I was. Unlike Staind, they are emotional but without being ridiculously depressing, and in my books they're much better musicians too.

I was so impressed that I decided to buy "13 Ways to Bleed on Stage" and "Year of the Spider" in one fell swoop. I listened to both albums all the way through in one night, and while 13 Ways was indeed impressive, sporting some good tracks like "No One", "Just Got Wicked", among many others. Year of the Spider ups it in production value, and overall feeling from the tracks.

There are a couple filler tracks, but overall, the album is just fantastic. Aside from the single "Stupid Girl", which is not my favorite song on the album, there's some good ones with the opener "Remedy", "Suffocate", "Cure My Tragedy (A Letter to God)", "Whatever You Became", and "Change the World". And the rest are mainly average, but definitely listenable.

But in my books, the standout track is "Rain Song". All the other tracks on the album are great, but this one really, REALLY took it to a whole new level. Scooter Ward shows that he truly can sing, and that he DOES have a beautiful voice. Before people ask "WTF? Beautiful?!! He's a man for crying out loud!"

Allow me to explain that part, you see, I recognize when someone has a beautiful voice, and I use that word to describe their voice regardless of whether or not they're male or female. And yes, you heard me correctly folks, I said that Scooter Ward really has a beautiful voice, and that "Rain Song" really brings it out. When it comes to showing off his pipes, he proves that he's indeed quite raw and emotional with the lyrics.

The rest of the musicianship is gravy in my books, but knowing that Kelly Hayes and Terry Balsamo left the band for other projects (come on Terry, what's the matter with you? Why Evanescence? If there's a band that needs to break up, it's that one.), it kinda saddens me that we might not hear anything like this again.

Overall, I feel that Year of the Spider really was a step in the right direction for Cold, and I am glad I finally picked up this strange bedfellow of a masterpiece. Anyone who even remotely likes a band with a fresh and unique sound should check Cold out. I promise that you won't be disappointed. Thank you.

Yes, it's true. The critics officially hate Year of the Spider. Rolling Stone gave this cd 2 stars, and Spin labled the single Stupid Girl as "trash" alongside Evanescence's Bring Me To Life (June 2003 issue). Fortunately, Cold has a loyal fanbase (myself included) that doesn't give a $@%! what the critics think. Year of the Spider, the follow-up to 2000's 13 Ways to Bleed On Stage,
is chock full of dark, edgy riffs, and sing-along choruses. Imagine, if you will, a dark, tormented version of Creed combined with the melodic vocals and low tuned guitars of Staind and you'll have a fairly good idea of what Cold sounds like. The first single off the album, Stupid Girl is a catchy pop rock tune
featuring Rivers Cuomo of Weezer on lead guitar. Wasted Years opens with a surprisingly sweet violin arrangement, ushering in acoustic guitar and drums. My favorite track, Rain Song is a mournful love song. The chorus "every time it rains, I feel her holding me" pulls at the emotional strings of the listener while brining the ballad together. All in all, I found Year of the Spider to be Cold's most ambitious work in their four years of mainstream success. If you never liked Cold before, give this one a chance. Older fans will not be disappointed

This is by far the best Cold album out to date. Every song is incredible, it has great vocals, awesome guitars, Blasting Bass, and of course killer drums. The only problem that I have came across is that a couple songs on this album remind me of "13 ways to bleed on stage". But I would have to say that this cd has a life of it's own compared to other albums released by Cold. I think that it is much more heavier than the last album. And like always, they speak of true subjects, and things that people can relate to such as "Stupid Girl" and the bonus track at the end "Gone Away"(I'm sure you have heard this on the Tough Enough 2 Soundtrack)
Here is a brief overview of this spectacular album:

1.Remedy: It is a great way to start off the album(classic Cold) Guitars are heavy, and Drums are loud, its a very wicked track!
2.Suffocate: It has a very catchy chorus, it also has additional vocals by Sierra Swan(Its not a very big part of the song, just mainly in the background, during the chorus).
3.Cure My Tragedy(A Letter To God): Great Lyrics, a very well written song, many can also relate to this song.
4.Stupid Girl: Cold's first single off the album, heavy song, and has an awesome chorus, a lot of people can definately relate to this song.
5.Don't Belong: This song has some of those creepy sounds that Cold sometimes makes, very cool! It's not as heavy as most of the songs, but that what sets it different than the rest of the album, but don't worry it is in a good way!
6.Wasted Years: A Beautiful song, very soothing guitar sounds, and is somewhat of a sad song, it is probably my favorite song on the cd.
7.Whatever You Became: Another softer song, but that doesn't mean that it isn't good, it is actually a fantastic track!
8.Sad Happy: This Track is Spectacular! It has the most different Guitar Riffs of all of them, which makes it extremely cool!
9.Rain Song: A depressing song, but very great, the whole song was composed incredibly.

10.The Day Seattle Died: An interesting song, kind of like Scooter is telling a story. But the way he does it really works.
11.Change The World: A great song, it's heavy, and it seems very angry. And It is "relateable"
12.Black Sunday: It's a song that everybody has experienced, a lost love, and coping with the pain.
13.Kill The F*cking Music Industry: Definately the heaviest song on this cd, as you can tell by the name. The only song where Scooter actually screams, it sounds awesome though!
14.Gone Away: This is the bonus track, way, way past the last song on the album! I am sure you have heard this song before. But it is a classic, and one of the best songs ever made by Cold!

So if you want the best Cold album, Buy this Now! You won't regret it, you will be hooked on this cd for a long long time, believe me!

This CD is incredible. I wasn't even paying attention to Cold and I had no idea that they released a new CD...that was until I walked into Best Buy on May 13th. I saw it and I immediately recalled how much I liked their previous album, 13 Ways to Bleed on Stage. My theory is that they could've only gotten better, because the progression from their 1st to 2nd album was phenomenal, so I could only imagine what was in store for me.

Normally what I'd do at this point is rate each song. I'm just gonna save time and say that all these songs got the highest score I would give. When I first put in the CD, I let it play from start to finish and I loved every single song I heard...including the song "Gone Away" which is about 18 minutes into the last track.

The DVD that comes with it is definitely worth seeing. This is a great day for me, because I've been waiting for a really awesome rock CD to be released, and I could feel it coming, but no albums have been able to match up to that, until now of course. I highly reccomend this to rock fans. You shouldn't be dissapointed at all.

1. Remedy (4/5) - Great way to open the cd but the chorus gets old easy.
2. Suffocate (5/5)- Great lyrics, easy to relate to and the guitar is very cool.
3. Cure My Tragedy (10/5) - Sad and touching.
4. Stupid Girl (2/5) - This song ruins everything.
5. Don't Belong (4/5) - Ehh.. iffy iffy. His voice sounds really good on this song.
6. Wasted Years (10/5) - Reminds me of suicide. Very amazing song with very amazing lyrics. "There's a game life plays, makes you think you're everything they ever said you were."
7. Whatever You Became (5/5) - The music sounds cool.
8. Sad Happy (4/5) - Boring after awhile.
9. Rain Song (4/5) - The mysteriousness in his voice is really cool.
10. Day Seattle Died (5/5) - Not much to say about this song it's just amazing.
11. Change The World (4/5) - Same as above
12. Black Sunday (10/5) - The beginning is very cool. This song is beyond AMAZING. Very good lyrics. "I can't breathe at all. It hurts to think that time could heal my wounds."

13. Kill the Music Industry/Gone Away (3/5) (5/5) - Kill the music industry is very boring but Gone Away is an amazing way to end the album.

Very worth the money.

On their first two albums, "Cold" (1998) and "13 Ways to Bleed Onstage" (2000), Cold's dark songs were slashed by deadly hooks and driven by body-punch beats, with lyrics whose passionate despair was broad enough to draw loyal and passionate, if somewhat limited, fan support.

May 13th 2003 marked the return of Cold, with their third full length release, "Year of the Spider," and with it they've finally hit the big time. "13 Ways To Bleed On Stage" sold only 6,000 copies worldwide since it's release, whereas "Year of the Spider" has already sold 110,000 copies in it's first week on sale.

Frontman Scooter Ward readily admits that the sound of the band has changed over the two years since their previous album. For their new album, the band have adopted a more accessible style, although the dark undertones of Cold's previous albums remain.

Album highlights include the opening track, "Remedy", as well as "Cure My Tragedy", "Rain Song", and "Sad Happy". Truth be told, there is little to seperate these songs from the others on the album - each and every song is a musical masterpiece, over-flowing with emotion, indicative of a band that has matured greatly since they first appeared in 1998.

Ward says of his band: "There's darkness in this music, but because of the inspiration I've gotten from my sister, and the trust that our fans have shown us, there's light too, and this sense that everything's going to be better."

Indeed, this is very true of Cold as a band - they keep on getting better and better. Cold's songs are so deeply touching that it is difficult not to develop an immediate affinity for the band. Those that criticise them may just simply find their songs too beautifully harrowing to accept.

One has to genuinely believe in Cold's music...and to trust in the outstanding quality of this album.