“Is this what you wanted?“
World Gone Cold see themselves lined up with plenty of expertise behind them. With members from an array of bands including P.O.D., Demon Hunter, Disciple and Attack Attack!, with a number of years behind them, doing the work won’t be an issue. This variation in background from each member does pose the immediate question of merging of influences, though, and a curiosity as to how exactly World Gone Cold‘s self-titled debut EP will play out.
As “Left To Save” enters, within the first 30 seconds there is already plenty to digest. The trance bass line that immediately opens, followed by a wall of guitars and settling into pitched clean vocals – it’s a dive into the deep end that takes a moment to settle into the flow that World Gone Cold are looking to navigate. As it hits the chorus, it becomes apparent that the big vocal hooks blended with catchy guitar grooves are set to be the crux across the seven tracks.
This continues into following track “Opposites Attract“, wherein the processing of the vocals does begin to slightly grate on the ear. “Burn” does see a slight shift in vocal gear, with a style that leans very much into the hard rock end of the band’s influences, lyrically here this is where the self-titled record does begin to seem slightly uninspired. Although, there is a sense on this record that beyond the radio riffs, there isn’t too much that is intended to be interpreted beyond the surface level.
With “Again“, these flaws hit the surface too noticeably. Lyrically, it rehashes common relationship themes, and the vocals are so harshly tuned that it makes the track a hard skip even before its finish. “Apology“, and especially “Reality“, are a slightly more measured approach to their sound, however. Despite being easier on the ear, though, the arduous nature of the Dayseeker-lite aesthetic does begin to fully set in by this point.
Ultimately World Gone Cold‘s foray into the alternative and rock scene seems like a muddled one that lacks a decisive direction that will see them move beyond the fold of what has already been established. Outside of the already mentioned elements that need work, there is also a need to introduce elements that make the material worth revisiting, which the EP severely lacks in its current form.
4/10
World Gone Cold releases this Friday, March 17th via Rockfest Records.