This is a great band. Although I live in their home town of Columbia and I did hear about them back in their Sugardaddy Superstar days, I only actually heard about this CD through Taxi - which is the independant A&R company that got them signed. And I have to say, they deserve every bit of the success that will surely come their way. They are absolutely terrific songwriters with catchy hooks, great musicianship, and smooth dead-on vocals that really come through on this CD. I have read the other reviews that say this band lacks originality and, I have to say that I don't totally disagree on Tracks 5-10. But it doesn't really bother me because it seems to me that the band is still trying to find themselves, and they certainly have a lot of talent to work with. So let them be a little unoriginal at first, as long as they progress as they grow. That said, tracks 1-4 really define this band. These are, by far, the strongest tracks on the CD featuring an original songwriting style that, if drawn upon for future albums, should give them the long musical careers that they deserve. On tracks 5-10, there are obvious influences from other bands - most notably, in my opinion, P.O.D. and Linkin Park. Again, I think this is OK for their first release because the songs are just that good. My complaint is that they don't pull off the styles as well as the original bands that defined them. For example, on a few tracks, they try to mix a bit of rap rock into the choruses - a task better left to Linkin Park or Limp Bizkit. This vocalist just doesn't have the right style for it. But, all of that aside, the talent and songwriting ability of this band shines through any "start-up" problems that they may have. And if they continue to draw upon the totally original and self-defining style that they establish on tracks 1-4, their future looks very bright indeed. So, overall, for the songs, I would give it 5 stars.

So why the 4 star rating? Well, it has everything to do with the production. The CD was recorded in their basement studio and the record label picked it up, re-engineered it, and released it. And although they obviously did a good job on the original basement recording, and the mixing engineers up in Canada did an even better job on the re-engineering, I think this band deserves better. The album features some VERY powerful songs. And powerful songs deserve a powerful recording. Because it was recorded in a home studio, the drums sound flat and the mix sounds a bit lacking. Don't get me wrong, everyone did a great job and the recording is immensely listenable. But I just think that the record company could have sprung for the few extra bucks and put these guys into a real studio. With songs like these, it would pay them back twenty-fold. I know the recording industry isn't in the best shape right now, but they should still be willing to invest in their talent. And I think they did these guys an injustice by not giving them the best recording they could possibly deliver.

My second problem has to do with the length of the CD. With 10 songs at just over 3 minutes a piece, the entire album clocks in at just over 34 minutes. That's fine for a demo CD, but not for a major label release. With the rise of music downloads, consumers expect to pay NO MORE than $0.99 per song. At a list price of $12.98, this album just doesn't add up financially - especially given the fact that the recording was done in a basement. Again, this is not the band's fault. It's just that consumers deserve better and, by not delivering it to us, the label is putting the band at a disadvantage.

So, overall, this is a great band with a great album that should have been longer and better produced. But the future looks bright as long as the record label gives them the proper support that they deserve. Let's hope for more next time...

Crossfade seriously rock!. They should stay with their own style tho (no more disco and Death Trend Setta please!!) Here's my song by song breakdown...

1. Starless - Alot of variety on the song. Great chorus. Hated the "Rap" part in the end at first but it kinda builds on u. 9

2. Cold - First song i heard from the album. Made me get the album. 9.5

3. So Far Away - I love how this song starts. One of the best songs off this album. 10

4. Colors - its good but "surely not the best". The first three songs are much better 7.5

5. Death Trend Setta - Too familiar and too crappy. Although i love that opening riff, up until the singing.. Personally did not like. 5

6. Deep End - Great song with a great chorus. 8.5

7. No Giving Up - Nice opening. Solid song. 9

8. Dead Skin - Softer than others. Ok song. 7.5

9. Disco - Too "disturbed". Not the best song but not as sucky as ppl say. 6

10. The Unknown - Great way to end the album. Too redundant tho 8

So songs on the "Best Of" playlist would be:

- So Far Away

- Starless (Tho i still dislike that rapping part in the end)

- Cold

- No Giving Up

- The Deep End

This is an overall good album. Very much worth the thirteen bucks. Also check out Lo-Pro's debut, as well as Breaking Benjamin...

Crossfade had a pretty big year in 2004, thanks mainly to their catchy hit "Cold" that just kept getting bigger and bigger. They seem to have come out of nowhere, with a self-produced album recorded back in 2003 while the band went under a different name -- Sugardaddy Superstars. This ten track debut attempts to encompass a variety of genres. Crossfade bends between melodic modern rock (in the same vein as Staind) and rap-rock (sounding a bit like Saliva), and as far as this debut goes, these sounds mix about as well as oil and water. No doubt, it's a commendable effort from a bunch of guys who did it themselves, but the album doesn't deliver on a promise that the excellent "Cold" made -- quite frankly, the rest of the album is just weak by comparison. It's easy to see why "Cold" is so big, it's catchy, it's something everyone can relate to and it hits all the right notes. "So Far Away" is almost up to par, and "Starless" would be great if it wasn't afraid to bust open in all the right places, making for a very weak start. "Disco" and "Death Trend Setta" are instant throwaways, cheesy, stale rap-metal at the best. "Dead Skin" and "The Unknown," the mellowist moments, are about the only two tracks I find myself coming back for more. These two songs definitely get better with each listen, but the rest of the album doesn't. If you loved "Cold," I can't promise this will live up to it. It's got a few good songs, but overall, a very disappointing effort. I think the band will get better though when they make another album. I mean, this was self-produced, and on that merit, it's good. But they just can't hang with so many bands that do this sound better right now.

I had never really heard of this band until i heard "Cold" on the radio. I was impressed by the song but i didn't want to buy the album yet because of only one single. The only reason I bought this album is because I got tickets to a Shinedown/Crossfade concert and I decided to get pumped for the show buy buying Crossfade, since I already have Shinedown. I'M SO GLAD I BOUGHT THIS ALBUM. Even though it may not be the most original in material it's definatly worth the $9.99 I spent on it. If you're fans of Shinedown, Disturbed, and or P.O.D i would recommend you buy this immediatly!

This cd was ACTUALLY created 3 or 4 years ago. Crossfade used to be a different band and had to change their name when they signed to a record deal. Columbia decided to bring them into the studio and have them do all the tracks on their self-produced cd. So in actuality these songs were all done when some of the bands mentioned in the previous reviews were just blowing up...so give it some slack. The songs are well written and I love every song on the cd. They left some good songs off the re-release, but hey...maybe we'll see them next cd. Crossfade is an energetic and hard working band and deserve EVERY penny they get. Don't think these guys sit around. They tour and play as much as they can and I'm sure the year and a half it took to get signed and throw out a cd for us was stressful. AMAZING cd.