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Coldspell: Out From the Cold

From Sweden comes Coldspell, a fairly new band consisting of Niklas Swedentorp (Lead Vocals), Michael Larsson (Guitars and Backing Vocals), Anders "Kebbe" Lindmark (Bass), Perra Johanson (Drums), and Matti Eklund (Keyboards and vocals), and their sophomore release for Escape Music is titled Out From the Cold. Mixed by Tommy Hansen, Out From the Cold is a pretty slick sounding catchy affair, a combination of melodic rock, 80's metal, and a little 70's hard rock. It's pretty obvious that Coldspell have honed their chops on bands like Europe (drummer Ian Haugland even makes a special appearance here), Journey, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Uriah Heep, Giant, Shy, and Foreigner, so of course you can expect huge vocal melodies, crisp & often times crunchy guitar work, and the right amount of keyboards. Many of the tunes are highly memorable, if lacking on originality, but it's when keyboard player Eklund fires up his Hammond, Mellotron, or synth and roars through tracks such as "Run For Your Life", "Heroes", "Time", and the proggy "The King" that things really get exciting. Otherwise, many of the songs are decent melodic rock & metal fare, with plenty of riffs to go around on "One in a Million" and "Seven Wonders", and you have to wonder just how well this band would fared had they debuted back in 1987 rather than 2011. Swedentorp has a really good voice, perfect for this type of rock, and has 'star' written all over him. "Heading for Tomorrow" is like TNT meets Deep Purple, with it's Ronnie Le Tekro styled guitar riffs, soaring vocals, and raging Hammond organ. Fun stuff!

Coldspell certainly have all the tools for success, but time will tell whether their style of melodic rock/metal has a shot of breaking into the mainstream as we head into 2012.


Track Listing
1- Heroes
2- Run for your life
3- One in a million
4- Six feet under
5- Time
6- Save our souls
7- The king
8- Fate
9- Seven wonders
10- Angel eyes
11- Heading for tomorrow
12- Out from the cold

Added: December 7th 2011
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 1994
Language: english

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Coldspell: Out From the Cold
Posted by Steven Reid, SoT Staff Writer on 2015-10-17 11:28:42
My Score:

Sweden's Coldspell made quite an impact with their brash and bold 2009 debut album "Infinite Stargaze", which was strongly compared to the post "1987" sound that Whitesnake used to such successful commercial effect. That comparison is also a strong reference point for album number two "Out From The Cold", with Coverdale and friends once more being in the spirit of much of what is presented here. That said I think that the true sound nods more towards a certain John Sykes, who played with the 'Snakes at the time of their greatest success, with the preen and strut of Blue Murder being a closer representation than the pout and wink of Whitesnake. There is also a little more also going on here with at times latter day Europe and Winger in evidence, while one or two songs also have a more "sleazy" undercurrent that adds a welcome dollop of the variety across this disc.

So from that description you'll have guessed that Coldspell aren't setting out to carve a new and innovative niche for themselves, however even amongst the many Whitesnake clones that seem to grow year on year, this quintet stand tall and proud as one hell of a hard hitting rock machine. Whether it is the rollicking riff of "Six Feet Under", or the howling solo on the brooding "Angel Eyes", guitarist Michael Larsson proves to be a fret burner of true talent and when he is backed by the tasteful, yet impactful keyboards/Hammond playing of Matti Eklund then the results are songs of the highest calibre. Add to that some unfussy, solid bass work from Anders Lindmark and the uncluttered, yet colourful drumming of Perra Johanson and you really have a line up of musicians that just oozes class.

So often in this style of music, it is the desperation of the man behind the mic to mimic the screams and howls of Mr. Coverdale that ruins any chances of a band standing out from the crowd. However the real ace in the Coldspell pack is Niklas Swedentorp who doesn't make this mistake, instead being far more comfortable using his natural deep rich tones to embellish the music his band mates have laid down for him. Just listen to the easy delivery on the album's title track, or the perfectly pitched vocal that raises "The King" into a spine tingling slower number that certainly doesn't lack punch. As you'll gather by the now, the highlights come thick and fast, with all the aforementioned tracks being classy hard rockers that both impress with their restrained poise, or (more often) smack home with a self assured and well earned confidence (and that's without even mentioning the ultra-catchy "Seven Wonders"!).

In a genre littered with wannabees and clones, Coldspell are the real deal and if you are looking for a new hard rock album that really sums up what this style of music is all about, then search no longer.

Time to put on your jacket – Coldspell have arrived!



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