Jacksonville, Florida-based alternative metal outfit Cold started out by sharing the aesthetic of another Florida band, Limp Bizkit. Both groups favored technically complex, bleak, and brutal metal that merged elements of Jane's Addiction, Metallica, and Tool. The Bizkit actually discovered Cold playing in the Jacksonville area and helped them sign to the A&M subsidiary Flip. Cold's eponymous debut album was released in the summer of 1998, and through constant touring, the combo earned a devoted following. Their sophomore effort 13 Ways to Bleed on Stage appeared two years later, and Year of the Spider in 2003. By this point, Cold was moving steadily away from the Limp Bizkit model in favor of a moodier sound suggestive of Staind. On Spider, the hit single Stupid Girl was an example of this. (Interestingly, Stupid Girl was co-written by Weezer's Rivers Cuomo.) Despite Year of the Spider doing well with rock fans, Geffen soured on Cold in the midst of promotion for the album. Being dropped from the label led to internal strife. Guitarist Kelly Hayes departed, guitarist Terry Balsamo left to join Evanescence, and drummer Sam McCandless and vocalist Scooter Ward were left high and dry. Then a family member of Ward's became ill, and the future of Cold looked bleak. However, the band endured. They signed a new deal with Lava/Atlantic, and issued Different Kind of Pain in August 2005. By this point, Cold's lineup included Ward, McCandless, guitarists Matt Loughran and Mike Booth, and bassist Jeremy Marshall.
After the release of A Different Kind of Pain, the band parted ways in 2006, with Ward and McCandless launching a band that became the Killer and the Star. By the time the Killer and the Star released their debut album in 2009, Cold's original lineup had reunited. They mounted a tour in 2009, then set about recording a new album, Superfiction, which was released in the summer of 2011. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
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