blackstar40's Full Review: A Different Kind of Pain * by Cold
So you thought Staind were depressed? Wait until you check out these guys. And oboy, how they must hate being likened non-stop to their prominent musical relative, but listen to the Jacksonville-based groups fourth album A Different Kind Of Pain and youll instantly understand what a fair comparison that is.
Unlike each and every one of their previous albums, though, this one seems a little more quietly anxious and contemplating. You wont see a flicker of a smile from lead singer Scooter Ward on these eleven tracks theyre all intensively serious entries injected with the heartache and tragedy this positively morbid quintet had to go through in the recording process, during which the album underwent continuous name changes, from And The Sad Song Lives On to Anatomy Of A Tidal Wave (thank goodness they ditched that one) and The Calm That Killed The Storm before they settled on its final, current title. And believe you me, theres plenty of pain, and the real thing, not imaginary like it was on the groups debut and sophomore. The frontman alone had to cope with being walked out on by his fiancee, his band falling apart in front of him, his former label turning hostile and his sisters prolonged battle with cancer, as she is obviously a pillar of strength and tower of inspiration. His reaction to this has been develop a close affinity to, of all things, the ocean, and on the albums title track youll find a whole chorus devoted to him feeling kinda like the waves. Heck, he even thanks the ocean in the liner note credits.
But with two of Colds previous guitarists abandoning Wards vague ponderous themes for, uh, better things, the reformed members ensure one thing hasnt changed. Like on the first two outings (but not the exception Year Of The Spider), A Different Kind of Pain favors bleak, brutal guitar parts that dont bother with anything more complicated than one note riffs and thats purpose is to give the melody one hell of a drive. Thus, you wont find this release lagging in tempo its weighted instead with heavy soulbearing which is completely unrecognizable from the malicious alt metal odes from five years ago, and an approach rather equivalent to that on their brothers 14 Shades of Grey only Wards vocals pull more of a baritone. It even drops every last curse word for this session of mental exploration.
Back Home is the Cold style opener brooding, dark and most importantly dramatic, with the guitar part weaving tension into Wards apprehension and setting the standard for some of the albums later tracks, including the leadoff single Happens All The Time, the video clip having the band walking on a grey-skied beach dressed like gothic satanists as guitars blaze in the intro and Scooter Ward moroses about his misfortunate love life.
A good deal of the remainder, however, has that inescapable Cold problem most of the material is unfocused and lacks a decent punch, even freshly employed piano struggling to aid Ward, who seems more concerned with soul-searching than working up a hook to make these mid-tempo numbers stick. On account of his steadfast fans, many of which seem just as emotionally troubled as he is, A Different Kind of Pain acts as an invitation to come, share his pain but all others just wonder helplessly which obsesser the next song is a shout out to. Were all a part in Gods song he declares on the 8th Gods Song, fuelled by an anticipating piano descent.
Wards voice is handsome, as is assured in the beauty of the title track and Tell Me Why, apologetic ballads done up in elegance that sound almost a cross between Creed and Elton John, but theres no lyrical booklet included to follow his heart-on-sleeve words when things get messy. But undoubtedly, most may simply dismiss this, considering the whole quantity by far too emotional and too dynamically quiet to satisfy their bubbling testosterone.
So A Different Kind of Pain is a lot like self-therapy in some ways, wandered aloud to give listeners the opportunity to lap up the meaningful lyrical comments or turn their noses up and leave Wards scars to heal of their own devices before coming back and giving Cold another chance. But in the end, its your choice stick with straight psychiatry, or pay about the same to purchase A Different Kind Of Pain after all, theres only a couple of maned guitarists and a few notes that separate that separate the two, and if youre up for forty minutes on a couch examining yourself courtesy of Scooter Ward, and a handful of useful tips about what to do when youre dying (When Heavens Not Far Away) and when youre, as the cliche goes, high n dry (When Angels Fly Away), then go for it.
And theres no definite conclusion arrived at, either, meaning the public can expect more of the same in years to come.
Track List [x indicates standout track]
1. Back Home [x]
2. Feel It In Your Heart
3. Anatomy Of A Tidal Wave
4. A Different Kind of Pain [x]
5. Another Pill
6. Happens All The Time [x]
7. When Heaven's Not Far Away
8. God's Song
9. When Angel's Fly Away
10. Tell Me Why
11. Ocean
Similar Artists: Staind, Earshot, Stone Sour
Heavy: Not anymore
Swearing: Ditto
For Cold, music is... Scooter pauses. It s real. It s medicine. It s therapy. And I think anybody, no matter what age you are, can be affected by it. ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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