Cold - "The Things We Can't Stop" (Napalm Records)

As Cold, a product of the early-ought’s nu-metal movement, returns with The Things We Can't Stop, their Napalm Records debut, they sound like a band reborn, rather than a simple retread from a bygone era.

Harkening back to the layered emotional intricacies of their [brilliant] eponymous debut (minus the heavy grunge), The Things We Can't Stop is teeming with one contextual moody alt-everything jam after another (“Shine,” “Snowblind,” “The Devil We Know,” “Better Human,” “The One That Got Away”). Perhaps the band spun Death Valley Dreams’ Lust In The Modern World (guitarist Nick Coyle’s side project) on repeat in the rehearsal space?

But The Things We Can't Stop isn’t easily pigeonholed - Cold does justice to Snow Patrol in a wonderful reimagining of their hit “Run,” “Without You” is a throwback to the radio-readiness of 2003’s Year of the Spider, longtime frontman Scooter Ward flexes his familiar range on expansive standout “Quiet Now” and passionate ballad “Beautiful Lie” follows previous emotive bangers like “Bleed,” before Coyle steps in the share vocals duties with Ward on memorable closing sequence “We All Love.”          

Rather than being the answer to the question, ‘hey, remember this band, they sang that song,’ The Things We Can't Stop plots a new sonic course for Cold. And hopefully this is the start of a much welcomed second act.

Go Download: “Snowblind”