Cold Shot: Cold Shot

If you're a diehard follower of 80s Melodic Hard Rock and you haven't heard of Eonian Records, then I suggest that as soon as you've finished reading this review, you click the link below and prepare to discover a cornucopia of releases you'll love that you never even knew existed. For this is a reissue specialist (unlike, say, "big boys" Rock Candy) who dig far deeper than the obvious, in fact even deeper than the "got released, but never got a chance". For the Eonian ethos is to uncover bands who never even managed to get their music out to the public due to the unwashed tide of frayed, striped jerseys, lank hair and down in the mouthness that we now call Grunge. Which brings us to Cold Shot and their self titled release, which was originally recorded back between 1989 and 1991 for release on Virgin Records; which, as you've guessed, never happened.

Initially the band were called Shark Team, however by the time that guitarist Anthony Gallo and vocalist Adam Murray had teamed up with Erin Bartley (bass) and Rikki Baggett (drums), the Sharks were now the Shots. The ability of Cold Shot to regularly sell out legendary venues like The Whiskey and the Roxy on Sunset Strip quickly brought them notice and when "Juicy Lucy" and "Higher" (both included here; the latter featuring a co-write from Quiet Riot's Carlos Cavazo) were included on the soundtrack to Brad Pitt's first "indie" film, Across The Tracks, Virgin stepped in. Most importantly, unlike many of the bands that littered the twilight days of The Strip, Cold Shot combined two things that seemed less important to some, namely cracking songs and a harder, far less throwaway edge. Across this album the likes of Babylon AD, Ratt, Beau Nasty, Kingofthehill, Cinderella and even Tesla come to mind, Gallo's guitars dominating and leading the way. However in Murray, Cold Shot had a charismatic focal point, his voice at times dangerously close to losing control, while never actually stepping over the mark - think Jeff Keith meets Tom Keifer via Ted Poley. It's something which gives the eleven songs here a real sense of urgency and a little bit of individuality many more famous acts lacked, and impressively, two and a half decades down the road from when the meaty riff-led "Higher", groove-tastic "Give Me What I Need" and mid-paced swagger of "Foolish Pride", were recorded, they still sound fresh and vibrant.

There are countless acts for whom Grunge was (rightly) a wake-up call of gargantuan proportions, however to simply believe that all of the acts caught up and disposed of in the hype and hyperbole were bloated and worthless, is to dismiss a huge amount of stunning music. If the likes of Cold Shot couldn't even get this (rather excellently remastered by Jeffery A. Diehl and presented with interesting liner notes) excellent album released, then imagine the other gems that slipped through the Grunge cracks! As I said at the top of the review, follow the link below to discover that many of them have been lovingly restored by Eonian Records. You won't be disappointed.

Track Listing
1. Juicy Lucy
2. Foolish Pride
3. Cold Shot
4. No Time
5. Gimme What I Need
6. Mine All Mine
7. Heart Of The City
8. Long Legs
9. Captured
10. Without Your Love
11. Higher

Added: October 3rd 2014
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Eonian Records
Hits: 1520
Language: english

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