Flotsam and Jetsam - The Cold

It’s been five long years since Flotsam & Jetsam released the pretty choice Dreams of Death, and usually such a long interim means the next release is either going to be one of epic proportions or a sad disaster assembled in haste or out of contractual obligations. This of course isn’t always part-and-parcel with said space between full-length releases, but it does happen more often than not. So here I sit with The Cold in my ears and I don’t hear the total thrash assaults I’m used to hearing from F&J, but I have to say this album is pretty damn good. There’s more of a pounding traditional metal style throughout as opposed to Doomsday for the Deceiver’s brutal fist to the face feel. It really is quite good and has long-term appeal.

The first point to note is that this album is dark in its subject matter right from the opening track “Hypocrite”, a slap across the cheek to the many an idiot in this life. Without sounding like a complete cliché the song follows a typical heavy output and settles between controlled rage and insurmountable anger. The title track is a bit of a brooding trek through depressing visuals, while “Black Cloud” is pretty much self-explanatory with this ever-looming din hanging overhead that permeates one’s existence. I really enjoy the musicianship on The Cold that doesn’t find the speedy thrashing of peers and contemporaries all that necessary; the album, in a nutshell, is what it is, and what it is makes up a pretty solid effort that you can enjoy without finding fault with the absence of the brilliance of No Place for Disgrace. The modern day has its own shade of gray to offer.

“Better Off Dead” is going to be the band’s “Suicide Solution” or “Beyond the Realms of Death” simply because the thoughts of exiting this life lead to this, a very well-written and performed track with which to ponder the end of it all. After this little foray into somberness ends, the power riff assault of “Falling Short” destroys the mood and gets the blood speeding through the body with relative ease. I honestly think this is one of F&J’s better efforts post 1990, and while I wasn’t complete put off by Cuatro, Unnatural Selection was about as dismal as it gets in a career. It’s so good to hear the band create something that might not be a Herculean effort, but manages to satiate the palate with just the right amounts of talent, arrangement and inspiration. The only song that comes off a bit on the cliché side is “K.Y.A.” which, while musically tempestuous in all the right places, suffers lyrically from the typical machismo of someone lording threats and subjugation over someone or something. It’s the one complaint I offer; the use of such generic and trite “kick your ass” is not even close to warranted. Anger can be masked so perfectly within the context of abstract or veiled stanzas, but hey, the album is great so it gets a small pass.      

The Cold is just warm enough to suggest you add it to your list of CD’s to pick up this month. Some of the bands from my youth are still kicking around the old can of heavy metal and this album is certainly worth your time.

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*Comments:

October 13, 2010

Reviewer: Chris

Release Date: September 14, 2010
Label: Driven Music Group

TRACK LISTING

1.  Hypocrite
2.  Take
3.  The Cold
4.  Black Cloud
5.  Blackened Eyes Staring
6.  Better Off Dead
7.  Falling Short
8.  Always
9.  K.Y.A.
10.  Secret Life

Total playing time:  52:04