ColdWards, the killer Nu-rock band based in Texas, releases their latest single/lyric video, “Antidote,” engineered and produced by Paul Crosby and Zac Crosby, mixed by Jonathan Dolese at Konkrete Studios in Nashville, and mastered by Ted Jensen.
Made up of Zac Crosby (vocals, electronics), Michael Friese (guitar), Richie Hey (bas), and Paul Crosby, former drummer of the Grammy-nominated band Saliva, ColdWards got together in 2020, followed by signing with Wake Up! Music Rocks, the snowballing indie label of Pepper Gomez.
From 2021 through 2024, ColdWards released an impressive series of singles, including “Say Something,” My Skeletons,” “Stained on You,” “Whirlwind,” “Bad News,” “Flatline,” and “The Fire Inside,” featuring Jonathan Norris. Collectively, the singles have amassed well over one million streams on Spotify alone.
Bloodwork, the band’s debut long player, was released in 2022, and quickly achieved more than one million streams. ColdWards is set to drop their EP, Bad News, soon.
ColdWards
Imagine a hybrid of Slipknot, Linkin Park, and Drowning Pool, and you’ll have some idea of their sound: raw, aggressive, almost barbarous, yet mitigated by atmospheric interludes and the distinctive vocals of Zac Crosby.
Written by Zac Crosby, the lyrics of “Antidote” communicate the burning anguish and incipient insanity the narrator feels when separated from his lover – a slow descent into a black abyss where light cannot penetrate.
“It’s warming up / It’s war if you leave me / You breathe your life into me / But my heart beats faster every time we speak / It’s like the antidote to life is slowly killing me / But I’ll take the risk to the grave.”
Opening on dark, throbbing tones and orchestral strings, “Antidote” transitions to edgy, alt-metal surfaces highlighted by deep, slicing guitars riding Paul’s intricate, crushing drumming. There’s a graceful, vicious elegance to his percussive style. Zac’s uniquely melodic voice, smooth and powerful, infuses the lyrics with emotions at once inky black and pictorial.
ColdWards’ new single reveals the band as a collaborative unit and an impressive embodiment of their cutting-edge Nu-rock sound.