The wide world of melodic death metal is one that I used to be much more into. With the likes of Amon Amarth, Despite, King of Asgard, and Countless Skies peppering my playlists, I knew it was only a matter of time before I finally returned to the style with a massive appetite. I didn’t think it would come so soon, but the upcoming record for Coldbound reignited the flame with their excellent flavors of melo-death the likes of which I haven’t heard in literally years.

A common theme that I’ve found a lot of melodic death metal is how there isn’t a whole lot of variation in the grand scheme of things. That’s why I enjoy bands like Amon Amarth that bring a special heaviness to the mix with a great backdrop or acts like Countless Skies that shake up the sound a good deal. Coldbound meets me right in the middle with the sound of “The Gale” being nothing that I would consider to be standout by any means but it’s far from being a lazy copy. Making some changes to your sound can take an album or two to really conquer, but Coldbound does it easily with “The Gale” being the band’s first real album that focuses completely on melo-death and the execution was no less than delicious. The nine tracks that make up “The Gale” allow for a rich, melodic death experience that any fan of the genre can appreciate because it’s got everything you can look forward to in an album of the style without the cliches or seemingly generic pieces being overplayed nor performed without a high level of expertise. It’s the ability to play cliches off really well that can make or break a record, and Coldbound is an outstanding example of such with “The Gale” being a terrific homage to the world of melo-death while still respectfully being its own entity.

I’ve come across all too many people that regard melodic death metal as lazy or fake death metal, and I will never understand that. With acts like Coldbound always being around for us to eat right up, what’s not to love? “The Gale” is a terrific, shining example as to how the style can be done yet with its fair room for improvement like every piece of work.

“The Gale” releases on June 10th!

LISTEN to an advanced track from “The Gale” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Coldbound on Facebook here.