COLDSPELL – Infinite Stargaze

Sometimes it is easy to excite, one just has to focus on a simple credo: Do what you do best, do it with your heart, and the world will recognize you. That is the case with Coldspell. The five Swedes are everything but special, extraordinary or original. The debut album called Infinite Stargaze is only one thing: good. Just good.

Having left their adolescence well behind, the band whose members have been around for a while without stepping into the limelight fully (guitar player Michael Larsson released two relatively unknown albums with R.A.W., but that was last millennium), this is a work of musicians who do not want to impress or show off, but just produce decent, down to earth Hard Rock.

Their style is rooted deeply in the Seventies and Eighties, reminiscent of Led Zeppelin at times (“Raving Mad”) or Rainbow (“Fade Away”), with a touch of Blues that reminds the listener of Whitesnake (“Eye Of The Storm”). Big names to drop, you say? Yes, but rightfully so. The melody, the feeling, the groove derives directly from the great days of Melodic Metal and earthy Rock. One thing is certain: Every big name mentioned has produced albums which are nowhere near as good as Infinite Stargaze!

The voice of Coldspell, singer Niclas Swedentorp, deserves a special mention here. Melodic Rock or Metal stands or falls with the voice, and Niclas is definitely one of the top voices in the genre. He looks eye to eye with Jorn Lande or Joey Tempest, and in this gives Coldspell the edge over many other bands in the genre. But it would not be fair only to mention Niclas, as solid musicianship, excellent songwriting and a very powerful production give him the forum in which he can shine.

Regardless which track you pick, it is all great, catchy, sunshine Rock. It just becomes spring everywhere, so this may be a fitting soundtrack to the increasing warmth of the season, as the twelve songs will blow away the morning mist and every bad mood one may be in and puts the first smile on your face, even before you had your first coffee.

To return to the beginning of this review: They do a great job, you can hear that they’re in it with their heart – now it is up to you to recognize them.