Revis, Cold, and Smile Empty Soul

Being nostalgic from an early age, I was incredibly upset when I first discovered Cold on YouTube and realised that they had disbanded in the year 2006. The moment I found out that they were reuniting and promising both a tour and new albums, I immediately sought to find a spot where I could see them perform live. After watching so many concerts on YouTube, the real thing was a whole new level of fantastic. I saw them in Florida, at the Central Florida Fair this year, and there could not have been a more perfect addition to Saliva's main set. Cold has this almost unattainable quality where they constantly leave you wanting more, and they work so well in tandem with each other that you can't help but become addicted to their sound. My personal favourite is Scooter, mainly because of his rough, Pearl Jam-style vocals, perfect for the post-grunge feel that the band emulates. Their songs are so powerful, they get right through your skin and you can't help but want to headbang and sing-along to every hit track. They of course played two of my favourites: 'American Dream' and 'Wicked World', and the atmosphere generated by these classic hits from a newly reformed group was just unforgettable. These are guys full of energy, and you could tell from watching them on stage that they're not quite done with music just yet.

Smile Empty Soul is an American Hard Rock band who have been going for about fifteen years. They have earned themselves a loyal following that love and adore anything that they release. They are pretty angsty and have been for their whole career it seems. It is as thought they haven’t transcended; they have just remained the same, writing the same songs, with the same dual guitars playing with plenty of distortion, the same open hi-hats throughout, the same self pity/self indulgent lyrics. Tonight they deliver to this audience almost exactly what the patrons ordered, angry music for angry people. Everyone is dressed in black - if you’re not dressed in black, you get stared out to the point of wanting to leave. “Bottom of a Bottle” opens this show to a large roar from the predominantly male audience. “For You” and “All My Problems” are the drawling mid set songs that sort of keep the “party” as they say going. Fair play, I guess.