Houston, Texas-based rock outfit ColdWards unveils their debut album, Bloodwork, via Wake Up! Music Rocks. ColdWards will perform at Rockin The Sound on March 23, 2023.
Made up of Paul Crosby (drums), Sean Crosby (vocals, guitar), Zac Crosby (vocals, electronics), Richie Hey (bass), and Michael Friese (guitar), ColdWards’ sound merges chunky guitars, wicked percussion, and beguiling hooks with edgy alt-metal and formidable indie-rock.
Rock aficionados may recognize Paul Crosby as the drummer of Grammy-nominated and Gold and Platinum certified Saliva.
Talking about Bloodwork, Paul shares, “For me, just being able to create music with my sons is incredible! if the music connects with people and impacts their lives in any positive way, then that will be truly amazing!”
While Zac says, “Making ‘Bloodwork’ was both fun and challenging for me. You’d think rock would come naturally to me but, to start with, I had little idea of how I would approach it. My first real pass at it was ‘Stained On You.’”
He continues, “‘Whirlwind’ was written well before ColdWards and is easily at the top of my list. It was written not very long before the pandemic, and during an impactfully emotional time in my life. It started out more like hip hop and was completely self-produced. I’d say even after waiting 2 or 3 years to finish it, the results didn’t disappoint.”
Sean adds, “To me this album was a place I could take my fears, flaws, insecurities, and doubts and just pour them all out and hope if someone is listening that they’re not alone in it all.”
Encompassing 10-tracks, Bloodwork begins with “I Told You So,” opening on thick, weighty guitars pushing out viscous layers of raw sound. A massive bassline and Jovian drums inject a commanding rhythm as rasping vocals imbue the lyrics with potency.
From a purely subjective point of view, highlights include “My Skeletons,” which conjures up suggestions of Linkin Park with its ebbing and rising layers, only more forceful and denser. While the intro to “Stained On You” features low-slung gleaming guitars, and then ramps up to pulverizing, brawny guitars that descend to melodic segments.
A personal favorite, “Perfect” travels on resonant, lingering guitars as high, longing vocals imbue the lyrics with wistful timbres. An echoing breakdown shifts the sonic flow prior to moussing up to a dazzling wall of condensed sound.
“Bitch” rolls out on eerie swirling tones topped by a sneering voice, followed by escalating to fat, surging guitars riding a savage, visceral rhythm. A blistering guitar solo infuses the tune with incandescent licks. Paul’s hammering drums invest “Bitch” with a vicious battering aura.
“Welcome To My Winter,” featuring Bobby Amaru of Saliva, teeter totters between passages of dreamy melodicism and elevated, thrumming guitars, like a monster riddled by serenity.
Dripping with primal ferocity, as well as soft, melodious episodes, Bloodwork bristles with reckless dynamism and full-spectrum dominance. Without a doubt, Bloodwork is one of the top ten albums of the year.
