COLDSPELL is a heavy metal band that hails from Sweden. I would describe COLDSPELL as a melodic heavy metal band with hair metal elements. I was hoping it would be power metal, but it's still pretty good. Some of the choruses remind me heavily of 80's hair metal bands. I guess that fad is on its way back. I am fine with that. There are many worse genres out there. I always thought that hair metal got a raw deal because a few of the bands in that genre that were totally terrible seemed to tarnish other bands that didn't deserve it. One thing I note in the record is the use of the Hammond organ. ICED EARTH did that a couple of years ago and since then I have heard it more and more. I would rather hear the synthesizers and keyboards the power metal bands use. To be fair, COLDSPELL does use those as well, so I can't be completely negative.

The singer is very good. As I just mentioned, we have elements of hair metal here, but the singer does not have that annoying Mark Slaughter whine to his voice, thank God. If you have ever had that misfortune of seeing that band live, you have my condolences. Unfortunately, I have. Back on topic, COLDSPELL has some really good music to offer. The songs are top notch. The guitar playing is very melodic, it never ventures into shredding, just good hooks you can follow easily without having to over strain your brain. They have an excellent drum sound. I have always loved bands that get that part right. They can be too tinny; they can be too bombastic and reverberate a bit too much. There are many ways to get it wrong. COLDSPELL gets it right. The closest example of what they sound like that I can come up with is the heaviest of the DOKKEN albums (except for the organ usage). That is a very good band to sound like. They manage to do that without once ripping them off.

The lyrics on "Time" are spectacular. They put a lot of thought in it. It doesn't just simply rhyme; it makes sense and has a real meaning behind it. The guitar sound truly packs a wallop. It carries more distortion than bands like TRIXTER and FIREHOUSE, which is why I pointed out their heaviness. It is melodic heavy metal in sound and hair metal in vocals. It's not easy to describe, and I would bet they are proud of that. No one wants to be a clone. At times I feel like I am listening to KANSAS when they pull out the old organ, but that would be my sole complaint. Everything else is fine.

Overall, this album had the potential to be so much more, but I truly believe the use of the old Hammond organ sound diminishes the content greatly. It's just too much and it is completely out of place. If that wasn't used so much, I'd be ranking it two points higher. If the old organ sound doesn't bother you, then you will love it for all the other positive aspect I have pointed out. Go buy it if you can deal with what is my sole complaint.