Cold Divide - Weaponized EP

Melbourne four piece Cold Divide hit a note with me with one off track "Bloodwork" last year. Slow, brooding and well-written Industrial/Rock is something that I usually either shun or embrace, with serious leaning towards the former. Cold Divide became somewhat of an enigmatic return to form for the genre, reminding me at times of early Stabbing Westward, with elements of NIN, Godhead, and Tool.

Now I cannot attribute any instrumentation or role in the band to any of the four members, as I cannot find who does what on the website or facebook, so I'll have to go without.

"Weaponized" is a three track EP, which at times frustrates me - it intrigues me, appeals to me, and strikes all the right chords - but it frustrates me. Let's take a look at why.

The title track starts off with a glitchy bit of noise, before the vocals kick straight in. The instrumentation that plays behind the singer is soft and endearing - after the first verse, the song goes haywire and the Guitar and Drums come right in, providing a serious Rock track. It's well written, and the singer has a great voice, but the track doesn't attract my retention - the tune of the song is quite disjointed with its varying tempos and structures, and I find it hard to remember it afterwards - a bit of a double edged sword as the foursome are clearly very talented.

"Citizen Replaced" starts off very Glitchy ( a niche that the band themselves admit to), and the Glitch is met by Guitar howls. The vocal melody on this track is a LOT better, and it seems that Cold Divide are filling a much missed gap left by fellow Antipodes "Jerk".This track works a lot better for me - the chorus has a beautiful riff in it, and it's both memorable and enjoyable.

"Cold War Skies" is my favourite on the EP. The lyrics are bittersweet, it combines Glitch and Industrial Rock seamlessly, and it imprints a strong intention on the scene.

This is why it frustrates me - I like this band, a LOT, but I can't pinpoint why. There's not one track that makes me stand up and punch the air, but the songwriting is first class. Moving on from here, my only advise to them is to keep working on the unique sound, because the Glitch elements work REALLY well.

As Guitar based Industrial is pretty silent these days, this release could open the floodgates for quite a few people. Why not give it a try? Feb 28 2013