Coldrain is back with its seventh album!
Created in 2007 in Japan, the band led by Masato David Hayakawa (vocals), Ryo « Y.K.C » Yokochi (guitar/keyboards), Kazuya « Sugi » Sugiyama (guitar), Ryo « RxYxO » Shimizu (bass) and Katsuma Minatani (drums) unveils Nonnegative, still in collaboration with Warner Music Japan.
The album starts with Help Me Help You, a catchy track which stays in this rather melodious and pessimistic shades the band knows how to cultivate between expressive clean vocals and piercing screams while keeping this catchy groove we also find on CALLING and its mad leads. The track also uses Post-Hardcore influences to allow musicians to offer us energetic breaks before Cut Me reveals its dark and heavy side. The contrast with the chorus is very marked, then duality will slowly fade away to let Before I Go unveil us all its melancholy, whether it is on those vocals we feel defeatist or on the rather dissonant and disillusioned instrumental. The voice remains the main element while the heady tones resurface on Bloody Power Fame and its effective instrumental part. The chorus remains easily memorable, as well as the haunting Here With You and its false sweetness which lets the band offer a very contrasted sound again. The track still offers us those energetic parts, while Boys And Girls is the quiet track of the album. Sometimes only accompanied by keyboards, the vocalist shows us the full range of his clean voice before letting PARADISE (Kill The Silence) bring effective riffs and the catchy patterns back. Backing vocals are not left aside, then the strange 2020 reveals very modern influences before releasing pure rage, accompanied by heady leads. The break will be the perfect element to unleash the crowds before Rabbit Hole continues in this way with aggressive riffs which go back to the basis of Metalcore. Clean parts will also be part of the game before the band covers Don’t Speak of the American Rock band No Doubt. Quietness meets heavy and efficient rhythmics while allowing bass to offer heady melodies, letting From Today provide us its energetic and catchy roots to close the album in the same tones as it started.
Coldrain hasn’t lost its rage since fifteen years, and the band knows how to show it to us with Nonnegative, an energetic and contrasted album. Although still too little known internationally, the band clearly unveils its ambition.
85/100
