Always changing, not satisfying for everything that comes along, feeling the need to improve and find a new angle. Some artists think just like that, how to amaze next time around. Listening for the first time to the American COLD COLOURS, I was away on vacation in Crete, pretty darn beautiful place for who hasn't been there yet, it brought me the chills, in the good sense of the terms. COLD COLOURS seemed to master the Darkened Metal arts, finding its way through the Doomy gallows right up the throat with bites off the American oriented Power / Thrash fling. That was the time of "The Great Depression", two years back. Now, two years later, I received the release of their newly self-titled album, once again via Sleaszy Rider Records, and guess what I found in their little black magic box? Easily, a totally changed band but still led by Brian James Huebner, the founder and musical guide. I don't know if to call this a devolvement or evolvement, but once again COLD COLOURS redeemed its earlier efforts in favour of a different path, digging deep down the earth, looking for lost tombs of the ancients, or plainly pinning for the fields of misery and mourning. Thus the result is a band of three forging Doom / Death / Black / Gothic Metal under the hazy lights of a burial ground.

I wouldn't want to know what went through Huebner's mind after reforming COLD COLOURS following the entire early lineup of "The Great Depression" lost and never to return, but again he found a new conception to live for, something deeper, wicked, agonised and tortured from within. "Cold Colours" finds the early rotten bestiality of ROTTING CHRIST, around "Thy Might Contract" era, early MOONSPELL and NOVEMBRE, BLACK SABBATH of course as every Doom act that respects itself, and just a little behind the darkest corners of MY DYING BRIDE. In general, I found this release impressive; a cool mixture of the dark knacks of extreme Metal music contrived by the aching mellowness of the slow tempo rhythms. Huebner is a terrific growler with quite a fathomable singing pattern. The riffery isn't that developed, malignant but occasionally reprised like several lead guitar pains going on and on, almost being annoying ("Suffering God" and "Silent Speech"). On the other hand, observing the opening instrumental "Orifice", escalating slowly as the acoustic touches fade away, the music sounded constructive and thought provoking. "Disgust" was almost like its name, totally unneeded; it should have been a full track to actually matter. It seemed lost and roughly cut.

Furthermore, "A Loss of Faith" really went down deep into the scaffolds of damnation, a true essence of mysticism but also drama, a heavy reach out just abiding the classic nature of this genre. It starts blissful and ends with a farewell, but in between hell broke loose slow and easy. "Of Sand and Tears" carries on the same richness of the sorrowful vibe, the keyboards and lead guitars on the chorus, directed just same as old PARADISE LOST, taking quite an attention. Huebner's clean vocals are a bit dry, but chilled enough to suit. Covering ROTTING CHRIST was a smooth idea, as you have to respect the main influence and band that aided on proclaiming the band's name. Maybe through the bitterness and blackened flavours of this number, COLD COLOURS and Huebner found the band's true crux. I didn't really want to get too much into the album's production values, as those were lower than the previous contender, but honestly it didn't play that of a bigger part in my decision to rate this release. A decent work by Dan Swano upon the mastering but the engineering by Elder Marvellous wasn't that peachy. Generally, COLD COLOURS is still a wondering entity through the veils of blackness, but it contemplation got me interested; I suggest you would hang to listen as well.