Cold are a band that have been bubbling under the mainstream for the longest time now. They are well-known for their modern-rock radio hits like "No One," "Bleed/Thirteen" and "Gone Away," but have yet to reach their true peak. With 'Year Of The Spider,' Cold come through, both commercially and creatively. With a sound that is accessible, yet unique, Cold are definitely one of the few modern-rock bands that will be around, long after their biggest hits have been played out. "Stupid Girl," the first single, co-written by Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo, is a nice change of pace for the band. Not only is it catchy, but it is one of the few relatively bright spots on the album. Other songs like "Remedy" and "Suffocate" are some nice, heavy additions to Cold's catalogue, and will no doubt fare well as singles themselves. However, what I have discovered with this CD is that the further you go into it, the more emotional and thoughtful it gets. "Sad Happy" is sort of a revenge song about a fan who was raped by her dad constantly; "Rain Song" is about a close-friend committing suicide. There is also more of a religious theme flowing through this album than in previous releases, mainly evidenced by the track "Cure My Tragedy." This album is dark, personal, honest, passionate and everything in between. Cold have yet to put out a bad album. Everything they do is 100% quality, and as a longtime fan, I am happy to see they are finally getting the recognition they deserve. The limited edition comes with a satisfying DVD, which contains the music video & making of the music video for "Stupid Girl," several live performances (a few acoustic), interviews with all the band members, making of the album and more. Definitely a worthy purchase for any Cold fan. As for the album itself, everyone will love it. Cold fans, old and new, can all appreciate it. Kudos to Cold for putting out something inspiring and thoughtful, all the while managing to be successful.

Cold has done it again. They never dissapoint. The songwriting is real mature and a great step up from 13 or Cold. This is possibly one of the two best cd's for 2003 (The other one being Staind's 14 Shades of Grey). Here is a rundown of the tracks.

1. Remedy- Great cd opener. A little weak in the middle but overall a worthy opener. 9.9/10.

2. Suffocate- One of the best songs on the cd. The girl singing only adds to the song and not detracts like one reviewer thinks. 10/10.

3. Cure My Tragedy (A Letter To God)- Beautiful guitars and Scooter is top notch on the singing. 10/10.

4. Stupid Girl- Their first single and not a bad one at that. Usually when groups release their first single, it is [crummy]. Not with Cold. Every track could be a single but it is great that this song is the first. 10/10.

5. Don't Belong- The song that most relates to my life so i take pride in this song. Everything about it is excellent. 10/10.

6. Wasted Years- Great song with great lyrics. 9.5/10.

7. Whatever You Became- Another hit. You can't go wrong with this song. 10/10.

8. Sad Happy- Possible the best song on this cd. Very emotional and you can totally relate, no matter what. 100/10

9. Rain Song- Good Guitars and drums. The lyrics are great. Really pulls on the emotions. I love this type of music from Cold. 100/10.

10. The Day Seattle Died- The memories of Kurt Cobain and Layne Stanley will live on in the hearts of each and every music fan. Cold did possibly the BEST tribute of all time to two of the greatest, most talented signers of all time. 100/10.

11. Change The World- Good song. 'Nuff said. 10/10

12. Black Sunday- Same here. 'Nuff said. 10/10.

13. Kill The ... Music Industry/Gone Away- The main song is ok but what is great about it is 18 minutes into the song and that is Gone Away. Truly Magic. 100/10.

Cold is possibly one of the two best rock groups out there today (Staind being the other group). Scooter is a inspiration to songwriters everywhere especially me. Keep up the good work guys.

It is a shame I didn't get this album when it first came out, but I suppose any time is better than no time at all. Allow me to go into how I actually FINALLY got turned on to Cold's unique, and spooky sound. Let's just say that a friend of mine showed me a link to a fan made "Animated Music Video" or AMV from a place called YouTube.com, it was one set to a Rammstein song, and it did kick ass. However, I felt like seeing what was on there for Fatal Frame, so I typed that in, watched a few of the videos there, wasn't exactly impressed. But then a video titled with the caption "Pray For Rain" tantalized me.

What was it you ask? It was a video using in-game clips from Fatal Frame III: The Tormented set to "Rain Song", which happened to be on this album and I didn't realize it at the time. As I listened to the song and watched the video, I was just completely and utterly blown away. Not only by the music, but by how this person was able to capture the emotion of both the music and the video at the same time. I was absolutely moved to tears by the whole thing.

I immediately contacted this person and thanked them for making that video, and finally really getting me into Cold. I used to think of them as "just another Staind clone", and lemme tell you folks, I HATE Staind, so essentially these guys were associated with them in my books (they are good friends after all), but oh how wrong I was. Unlike Staind, they are emotional but without being ridiculously depressing, and in my books they're much better musicians too.

I was so impressed that I decided to buy "13 Ways to Bleed on Stage" and "Year of the Spider" in one fell swoop. I listened to both albums all the way through in one night, and while 13 Ways was indeed impressive, sporting some good tracks like "No One", "Just Got Wicked", among many others. Year of the Spider ups it in production value, and overall feeling from the tracks.

There are a couple filler tracks, but overall, the album is just fantastic. Aside from the single "Stupid Girl", which is not my favorite song on the album, there's some good ones with the opener "Remedy", "Suffocate", "Cure My Tragedy (A Letter to God)", "Whatever You Became", and "Change the World". And the rest are mainly average, but definitely listenable.

But in my books, the standout track is "Rain Song". All the other tracks on the album are great, but this one really, REALLY took it to a whole new level. Scooter Ward shows that he truly can sing, and that he DOES have a beautiful voice. Before people ask "WTF? Beautiful?!! He's a man for crying out loud!"

Allow me to explain that part, you see, I recognize when someone has a beautiful voice, and I use that word to describe their voice regardless of whether or not they're male or female. And yes, you heard me correctly folks, I said that Scooter Ward really has a beautiful voice, and that "Rain Song" really brings it out. When it comes to showing off his pipes, he proves that he's indeed quite raw and emotional with the lyrics.

The rest of the musicianship is gravy in my books, but knowing that Kelly Hayes and Terry Balsamo left the band for other projects (come on Terry, what's the matter with you? Why Evanescence? If there's a band that needs to break up, it's that one.), it kinda saddens me that we might not hear anything like this again.

Overall, I feel that Year of the Spider really was a step in the right direction for Cold, and I am glad I finally picked up this strange bedfellow of a masterpiece. Anyone who even remotely likes a band with a fresh and unique sound should check Cold out. I promise that you won't be disappointed. Thank you.

This is by far the best Cold album out to date. Every song is incredible, it has great vocals, awesome guitars, Blasting Bass, and of course killer drums. The only problem that I have came across is that a couple songs on this album remind me of "13 ways to bleed on stage". But I would have to say that this cd has a life of it's own compared to other albums released by Cold. I think that it is much more heavier than the last album. And like always, they speak of true subjects, and things that people can relate to such as "Stupid Girl" and the bonus track at the end "Gone Away"(I'm sure you have heard this on the Tough Enough 2 Soundtrack)

Here is a brief overview of this spectacular album:

1.Remedy: It is a great way to start off the album(classic Cold) Guitars are heavy, and Drums are loud, its a very wicked track!

10.The Day Seattle Died: An interesting song, kind of like Scooter is telling a story. But the way he does it really works.

So if you want the best Cold album, Buy this Now! You won't regret it, you will be hooked on this cd for a long long time, believe me!

1. Remedy (4/5) - Great way to open the cd but the chorus gets old easy.

2. Suffocate (5/5)- Great lyrics, easy to relate to and the guitar is very cool.

3. Cure My Tragedy (10/5) - Sad and touching.

4. Stupid Girl (2/5) - This song ruins everything.

5. Don't Belong (4/5) - Ehh.. iffy iffy. His voice sounds really good on this song.

6. Wasted Years (10/5) - Reminds me of suicide. Very amazing song with very amazing lyrics. "There's a game life plays, makes you think you're everything they ever said you were."

7. Whatever You Became (5/5) - The music sounds cool.

8. Sad Happy (4/5) - Boring after awhile.

9. Rain Song (4/5) - The mysteriousness in his voice is really cool.

10. Day Seattle Died (5/5) - Not much to say about this song it's just amazing.

11. Change The World (4/5) - Same as above

12. Black Sunday (10/5) - The beginning is very cool. This song is beyond AMAZING. Very good lyrics. "I can't breathe at all. It hurts to think that time could heal my wounds."

13. Kill the Music Industry/Gone Away (3/5) (5/5) - Kill the music industry is very boring but Gone Away is an amazing way to end the album.

Very worth the money.