Album Review: Cold World - 'Dedicated To Babies Who Came Feet First'

Cold World had a lot of hype on them a couple of years ago, and I for one could not work out why. Sure, the band had a few good tunes but their rumoured live intensity did not translate well on record, so when a copy of their latest effort landed on my desk I was pleasantly surprised with the sounds I was hearing. Having sat with the record for a couple of months I’ve come to the following conclusion: If you take shit way too seriously then you will not enjoy this record one iota, however, if you’re looking for something fun to listen to and you don’t mind the throwback sounds of the nineties, then you’re going to dig Dedicated To Babies Who Came Feet First. 

Having enlisted (the now defunct) Biohazard’s axe-man Billy Graziadei to handle production duties, the guitarist’s influence is clearly greater than just hitting the record button and hoping for the best, as the thick grooves of his former outfit permeate through Cold World’s bottom heavy sound. After the sampled “Intro” we’re hit with the powerful “Boom Bye Bye”, a shout-a-long number that will have fans of bands like Downset nodding along in agreement, the same trend continuing with “Do The Knowledge”, that is until the gruff vocals shake things up in the song’s chorus section. 

“All The Things You Said You’d Never Tell” is hardly reinventing the wheel but the song is most definitely catchy, the riffing and half time beats making the most of a classic song-writing formula, while the guitar work in “Roaches And Rats” is about as subtle as a sledge hammer to the face. After another beat driven interlude Cold World come out swinging with the album’s title track, a guest appearance from George of Blacklisted fame being just what the doctor ordered. The monolithic “No Angels” directly follows, and although the song is far from terrible it does bring to light that Cold World are a bit of a one trick pony… although that one trick is pretty fucking cool. “How Deep” and “The Games That People Play” both kick in all the right places but it does feel like the band are just recycling the first half of the record (however it is worth noting that “Time To Break Down” is one ot the album’s stronger tracks).

I’m not sure how relevant Cold World are in today’s constantly changing hardcore landscape, but as I mentioned previously, if you’re after something a little different (and you can overlook the cheesy musical references) then you’ll definitely get a few spins out of this release.

1. Intro
2. Boom Bye Bye
3. Do The Knowledge
4. All The Things You Said You’d Never Tell
5. Roaches And Rats
6. Leave A Message 1
7. Dedicated To Babies Who Came Feet First
8. No Angels
9. How Deep
10. Leave A Message 2
11. The Games That People Play
12. Whagan (Featuring Warrior Queen)
13. Liars, Thieves
14. Time To Break Dawn
15. Outro