Album Review :
Gideon - Cold
By Mason Beard in Reviews | 8 Comments
Gideon has comeback with a new album this year. Cold is here.
The album starts with “Champions”. “Champions” is probably one of the best on the album. The song is heavy and thrashes hard. The clean vocals bring some beauty to the song, but that doesn’t change the hardcore vocals Daniel McCartney brings to the table. ‘This is, where, the rubber meets the road! Where it’s do or die! Where you go at it alone! And you don’t stop…Change Your WORLD!’ The track is probably my favorite so far.
“Cursed” is a very progressive song to start off. It has a certain slow and technical feel to it. The song also features Bryan Garris of the hardcore band Knocked Loose, which adds some interesting vocals to the mix. ‘You can RUN! You can HIDE! If it gives you peace of mind!’ The track is certainly a progressive hardcore track.
“Machines” is heavy hitting and fast. It brings a sense of melody and heaviness, hardcore and brutality. The breakdowns on this track bring it to a whole new level of heavy. ‘I am not your machine. Not your machine, not your machine! DROP!’
“Freedom” features Hatebreed’s vocalist, Jamey Jasta. The track is definitely one you will want to mosh to. Jasta typically has that effect over people. Jasta and Vocalist Daniel McWhorter’s vocals clash perfectly in this track. The breakdown in the track brings the walls down. Get ready to get torn apart in the mosh pit next time you go to a Gideon show. That’s all I’m saying.
“The Game” is a thrash hardcore song. It’s fast, angry and heavy. The track almost sounds like he’s rapping while singing in the hardcore tone. ‘This is our time to rise. And prove we’re more than just. Dust to dust!’ The track is certainly a good one, but not the best on this album.
“Cold” is a slow song, giving listeners a break from the heavy and fast paced hardcore. The track is instrumental, but that just makes it soothing.
“Watch Me Sink” starts off like a song of Close Your Eyes, kind of in that pop punk manner. It continues on like a technical/progressive metalcore type sound, but maintaining the lighter guitar tones. The bass sounds thick, the drums are technical, the vocals are melodic, the screams are piercing. The buildup for the breakdown is awesome, but the breakdown itself is somewhat disappointing, a rare thing to say about a Gideon breakdown.
“Pulling Teeth” was the album’s first single. It certainly makes sense for a single. Fast, heartfelt, and breakdown heavy. Most metalcore sounds the same, but you can almost always tell Gideon by their guitar tone or the technicality of the drums. ‘Traitor! I used to call you friend!’ Near the end, we get a taste of some melodic metalcore, minus the clean vocals.
“Walk Alone” has a brutal intro and some awesome cymbal work. The song sounds like Close Your Eyes in the sense of guitar tone and drums and such, but still maintaining McWhorter’s screams. The breakdown however is super sludgy and slow and brings out the bass just a little more, giving it some exposure on this record.
“Scapegoat” starts suddenly, bringing it down straight with the snare. Gideon brings it, like they always do. The band brings the breakdown even harder on this track. One of the best ones I’ve heard. #toptengideonbreakdowns. Empowering and brutal. Even sounds like Nails a little bit.
“Thick or Thin” finishes this brutal album off, as heavy as they could. The track brings melody and passion with their delivery. Gideon can write some awesome songs. The track ends the album with a sense of somberness and melody, without the vocals.
Gideon has been bringing their best for the last several years with three previous albums. But Cold is a game changer. The album brings some of the heaviest songs Gideon has ever written (Champions, Freedom) and also some of the most melodic and somber tracks (Cold, Thick or Thin). The band has been touring non-stop for the last several years and I am excited to see that they still take great time and pride into their songs instead of just recording for recording’s sake. Go get Cold now!
Musically I felt like it was a mix of the last two albums. Lyrically, I just can’t get into this–like at all. 2/5
This has been my go-to gym album ever since it’s come out. Some very solid songs on here. I especially love Cursed.
Where are they lyrically these days?
It’s hard to say. Some tracks suggest that the vocalist’s faith in God may be gone, but of course everything can be individually interpreted.
Songs that have hate filled lyrics aimed toward hateful, racist people and getting vengeance on those who have betrayed you (Scapegoat, Pulling Teeth), songs against the system that’s holding you back (Machine, Freedom), songs about people that say you can’t do it (The Game, Renegade), self-empowerment (Champions), and two songs dark songs about losing faith in someone and being a curse to everyone around you (Watch Me Sink, Cursed).
The only truly unique song is Thick or Thin about his father’s advice and sticking by a friend through changes.
I’d encourage you to check out the interview with Jake on the 100 Words or Less Podcast. He gets very real about what the album is about lyrically and where he is personally.
Thank you for this. I listened to the podcast. He mentioned being a little sheltered. I think he was more than a little sheltered. He grew up without many questions being answered it seemed. It seemed like questions weren’t even a part of his childhood unless they had pat answers (apologetics, “If they say this, you say that”). Even a simple question of how we talk with God and here His voice were left unanswered, even to today. Jake said he wondered how a person would feel comfortable in a relationship were the conversation was always one-sided and the other… Read more »
No problem, man. Glad you got a little more context. Sad to see the upbringing he got, but putting that in the open will help.