{"id":31459,"date":"2013-08-15T06:22:45","date_gmt":"2013-08-15T11:22:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=31459"},"modified":"2014-02-08T08:37:28","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T13:37:28","slug":"coldspell-frozen-paradise-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/coldspell-frozen-paradise-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Coldspell | Frozen Paradise<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alex Barbieri<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"ColdspellHardrock Haven news flash! Geoff Tate and George Lynch had a musical love child, and its name is Coldspell. Obviously, this is an oversimplification of Coldspell\u2019s sound, but you get the gist. <\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not yet familiar with the pride of Kiruna, Sweden, Coldspell are a five-piece melodic hard rock band with a phenomenal singer in Niklas Swedentorp, and stellar songwriting and guitar playing by founding member, Michael Larsson.
\nThey have two previous albums: Their debut, Infinite Stargaze<\/em> (2009), which made this writer practically spit out his Guinness in awe at the first listen, and Out from the Cold<\/em> (2011), also a strong album, though it lacked some of the magic of their debut. <\/p>\n

On 9\/20, Coldspell will release their third full-length album, entitled Frozen Paradise<\/em>, via Escape Music. Hardrock Haven has heard an advance copy, and we can tell you with high confidence that it is as good, if not better, than anything Coldspell has released before. <\/p>\n

In a word, Coldspell is epic. Their sound is huge, courtesy of Tommy Hansen, who mixed Frozen Paradise<\/em>, as well as their two previous efforts. If you\u2019re into soaring, emotional (but not over-the-top) vocals, crunchy, fiery guitar, and a tight, driving rhythm section\u2014all packaged in pristine production\u2014then Coldspell is your new favorite band.
\nSongwise, the new album brings to mind Back For the Attack-era Dokken, Queensryche (in their heyday), as well as Lynch Mob and Scorpions\u2014all good references if that\u2019s your thing. <\/p>\n

If there is any criticism of the new album, it\u2019s that Coldspell tends to adhere to a similar formula from song to song. They would benefit from branching out, perhaps recording a big power ballad that they would do so very well.
\nBut that\u2019s a minor complaint, given the consistent high quality of the songwriting and playing. In the words of Coldspell guitarist and songwriter, Michael Larrson, “We\u2019ve done our best and put 100 percent heart and soul into this album.\u201d That\u2019s obvious, and it certainly shows, Micke. <\/p>\n

If you\u2019re crazy about Coldspell, try to see them live at Melodic Rock Fest 3 on Saturday, September 29th in Chicago. This is a rare U.S. performance for the Swedes (they love coming to the States), and they\u2019ll be playing alongside House of Lords, Ted Poley, Bombay Black, Loveblast, and others. <\/p>\n

Highlights: \u201cParadise,\u201d \u201cAngel of the World,\u201d \u201cSoldiers\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen to \u201cAngel of the World\u201d<\/a> off Frozen Paradise<\/em>. <\/p>\n

Genre: Hard Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nNiklas Swedentorp – Lead Vocals
\nMichael Larsson – Guitars and Backing Vocals
\nAnders “Kebbe” Lindmark – Bass
\nPerra Johanson – Drums
\nMatti Eklund – Keyboards and vocals<\/p>\n

Track list:
\n1. Paradise
\n2. Angel of the World
\n3. Life Has Just Begun
\n4. Goin\u2019 All the Way
\n5. Alive
\n6. Life 2 Live
\n7. On the Run
\n8. Soldiers
\n9. Fallin\u2019
\n10. Dark Reflections
\n11. Legacy <\/p>\n

Label: Escape Music<\/p>\n

Web: http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/ColdSpell\/164708699316<\/a><\/p>\n

Read a Hardrock Haven interview with guitarist Michael Larsson. http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2010\/12\/michael-larsson-of-coldspell\/ <\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alex Barbieri – Senior Columnist — Hardrock Haven news flash! Geoff Tate and George Lynch had a musical love child, and its name is Coldspell. Obviously, this is an oversimplification of Coldspell\u2019s sound, but […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":31460,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[336,1755,1016,1103,334],"class_list":{"0":"post-31459","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2013","8":"tag-cd","9":"tag-coldspell","10":"tag-escape-music","11":"tag-hard-rock","12":"tag-review"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31459\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}