Year of the Spider
Encyclopedia
Year of the Spider is the third studio album by American post-grunge
band Cold
. It was released on May 13, 2003 through Geffen Records
. The album was Cold's most commercially successful, debuting at #3 on the Billboard album charts, with over 101,000 copies sold in its first week. Early pressings of Year of the Spider were shipped with a DVD
and a temporary tattoo of the Cold spider logo. The DVD included the making of the (as well as the actual) video for "Stupid Girl
", fan testimonials, and some home video shot during the recording of the album. This is also the last album with guitarists Terry Balsamo
and Kelly Hayes
.
A year prior to the album's release, the mellow ballad
"Gone Away" was released on the WWE Tough Enough 2
soundtrack. Its music video
, which met with considerable airplay upon release, listed it as from the album Year of the Spider despite the long wait for its release. "Gone Away" was subsequently used as a hidden track
; the song begins at 16:06 after 13 minutes and 13 seconds of silence (a reference to the superstitious nature of the band's previous effort 13 Ways to Bleed on Stage).
The album was frequently postponed from its projected release date. As early as April 2002, Year of the Spider was scheduled by Geffen for an October 2002 release. Frontman Scooter Ward
also expected Elias Soriano of Nonpoint
to contribute, but this did not come to fruition.
on hand, Year of the Spider is significantly more commercial than its dark predecessor, 13 Ways to Bleed on Stage
. It features a variety of guitar styles, violin and cello, and digital effects as well as a number of power ballads. While still dwelling on topics like drug abuse and relationships, the deaths of grunge
icons ("The Day Seattle Died"), and blatant criticism ("Kill the Music Industry"). "Cure My Tragedy" also deals with the struggle with cancer Scooter Ward's sister was having during the album's recording. This topic would be further explored on A Different Kind of Pain
.
", served as the album's lead single
and was the only Cold single to crack the Billboard Hot 100
, where it peaked at #87. Its music video garnered frequent airplay as well. Like "Gone Away", the introductory song "Remedy" was used by WWE
as the theme for the Backlash 2003
pay-per-view.
Following the release of the album’s second single, "Suffocate", to radio stations, plans were set-forth for a video to accompany the song. However, for reasons unknown, Geffen refused to make the video or promote the album any further. The stalemate with the label led to frustrations within the band, and in early 2004 Terry Balsamo departed, replacing Ben Moody
in Evanescence
. Balsamo was later replaced by ex-Darwin's Waiting Room
guitarist Eddie Rendini. The band made efforts to release another single in "Wasted Years", but Geffen stayed true to their earlier promise by not financing or promoting the album any further.
Singles - Billboard (North America)
Post-grunge
Post-grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged in the mid-1990s as a derivative of grunge, using the sounds and aesthetic of grunge, but with a more commercially acceptable tone...
band Cold
Cold (band)
Cold is an American post-grunge band, formed in 1996 in Jacksonville, Florida. With two gold-albums Cold has sold over 1.2 million records in the US alone. On November 17, 2006, Ward announced on MySpace that, after a period of uncertainty since that February, the group had decided to disband. In...
. It was released on May 13, 2003 through Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
. The album was Cold's most commercially successful, debuting at #3 on the Billboard album charts, with over 101,000 copies sold in its first week. Early pressings of Year of the Spider were shipped with a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and a temporary tattoo of the Cold spider logo. The DVD included the making of the (as well as the actual) video for "Stupid Girl
Stupid Girl (Cold song)
"Stupid Girl" is a song by American alternative metal band Cold and the lead single from their third major label album, Year of the Spider. It was the second song released for the album overall; "Gone Away" was released on the WWE Tough Enough 2 soundtrack while recognized as a Year of the Spider...
", fan testimonials, and some home video shot during the recording of the album. This is also the last album with guitarists Terry Balsamo
Terry Balsamo
Terry Balsamo , is an American guitarist. He is the former guitarist of the alternative metal band Cold and the current guitarist of Evanescence.-Early projects and Cold:...
and Kelly Hayes
Kelly Hayes (musician)
Kelly Hayes was the lead guitarist in the hard rock band from Florida called Cold. He joined the band before their mainstream debut "Cold", and after the old guitarist, Matt Loughran, left, while they were under the "Grundig" name. He left the band in spring of 2004.After departing Cold, Hayes...
.
A year prior to the album's release, the mellow ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
"Gone Away" was released on the WWE Tough Enough 2
WWE Tough Enough 2
WWE Tough Enough 2 is a compilation album of music related to the MTV reality TV series WWE Tough Enough. Cold's "Gone Away" served as the album's single with a popular music video released in mid-April 2002...
soundtrack. Its music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
, which met with considerable airplay upon release, listed it as from the album Year of the Spider despite the long wait for its release. "Gone Away" was subsequently used as a hidden track
Hidden track
In the field of recorded music, a hidden track is a piece of music that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, vinyl record or other recorded medium in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener...
; the song begins at 16:06 after 13 minutes and 13 seconds of silence (a reference to the superstitious nature of the band's previous effort 13 Ways to Bleed on Stage).
The album was frequently postponed from its projected release date. As early as April 2002, Year of the Spider was scheduled by Geffen for an October 2002 release. Frontman Scooter Ward
Scooter Ward
Scooter Ward is an American musician. He is the founding member and lead singer of the Jacksonville, Florida hard rock band, Cold.-Career:...
also expected Elias Soriano of Nonpoint
Nonpoint
Nonpoint is an American nu metal band formed in 1997. The band consists of Elias Soriano and Rob Rivera . Currently they are signed to Razor & Tie and working on new a record which is expected to be released in Spring 2012....
to contribute, but this did not come to fruition.
Style
With producer Howard BensonHoward Benson
Howard Benson is a two-time Grammy-nominated music producer and aerospace engineer.-Biography:Howard Benson has a degree in materials engineering from Drexel University and studied composition at the Philadelphia College for Performing Arts. Later he worked for Garrett AiResearch, where he worked...
on hand, Year of the Spider is significantly more commercial than its dark predecessor, 13 Ways to Bleed on Stage
13 Ways to Bleed on Stage
13 Ways to Bleed on Stage is the second studio album by American post-grunge/alternative metal band Cold, released in 2000. With four popular singles, it gained substantial commercial success, achieving gold status, and landed Cold in the mainstream rock scene.-Background and recording:About a year...
. It features a variety of guitar styles, violin and cello, and digital effects as well as a number of power ballads. While still dwelling on topics like drug abuse and relationships, the deaths of grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
icons ("The Day Seattle Died"), and blatant criticism ("Kill the Music Industry"). "Cure My Tragedy" also deals with the struggle with cancer Scooter Ward's sister was having during the album's recording. This topic would be further explored on A Different Kind of Pain
A Different Kind of Pain
A Different Kind of Pain is the fourth album by post-grunge band Cold. It was released on August 30, 2005 in the US and September 12, 2005 in the UK. Two working titles for the album were And A Sad Song Lives On and The Calm That Killed the Storm...
.
Singles
A particularly catchy track, "Stupid GirlStupid Girl (Cold song)
"Stupid Girl" is a song by American alternative metal band Cold and the lead single from their third major label album, Year of the Spider. It was the second song released for the album overall; "Gone Away" was released on the WWE Tough Enough 2 soundtrack while recognized as a Year of the Spider...
", served as the album's lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
and was the only Cold single to crack the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, where it peaked at #87. Its music video garnered frequent airplay as well. Like "Gone Away", the introductory song "Remedy" was used by WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
as the theme for the Backlash 2003
Backlash (2003)
Backlash was the fifth annual Backlash professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Entertainment...
pay-per-view.
Following the release of the album’s second single, "Suffocate", to radio stations, plans were set-forth for a video to accompany the song. However, for reasons unknown, Geffen refused to make the video or promote the album any further. The stalemate with the label led to frustrations within the band, and in early 2004 Terry Balsamo departed, replacing Ben Moody
Ben Moody
Benjamin Robert Moody is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor. He is best known as co-founder, lead guitarist, and songwriter of Grammy Award-winning rock band Evanescence from 1995 to October 2003...
in Evanescence
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording private albums, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 17 million copies worldwide...
. Balsamo was later replaced by ex-Darwin's Waiting Room
Darwin's Waiting Room
Darwin's Waiting Room was a rapcore/alternative metal band from Miami, Florida.-History:Darwin's Waiting Room formed in 1995 and went through several lineup changes before solidifying early in 2000. They signed to MCA Records and released their debut album, Orphan, in 2001. The album peaked at #19...
guitarist Eddie Rendini. The band made efforts to release another single in "Wasted Years", but Geffen stayed true to their earlier promise by not financing or promoting the album any further.
Track listing
All songs by Cold except when noted.- "Remedy" – 2:57
- "Suffocate" – 3:39 (featuring Sierra SwanSierra SwanSierra Marie Swan is an American musician. Swan's father is singer and guitarist Billy Swan. She was part of the duo Dollshead with Graham Edwards. Currently, she is involved in releasing solo work.-Career:...
) - "Cure My Tragedy (A Letter to God)" – 3:55
- "Stupid GirlStupid Girl (Cold song)"Stupid Girl" is a song by American alternative metal band Cold and the lead single from their third major label album, Year of the Spider. It was the second song released for the album overall; "Gone Away" was released on the WWE Tough Enough 2 soundtrack while recognized as a Year of the Spider...
" (Ward, Cuomo) – 3:09 - "Don't Belong" – 3:40
- "Wasted Years" – 4:07
- "Whatever You Became" – 3:45
- "Sad Happy" – 3:36
- "Rain Song" – 3:37
- "The Day Seattle Died" – 3:34
- "Change the World" – 4:01
- "Black Sunday" – 4:30
- "Kill the Music Industry" – 19:23
- "Gone Away" (A Song for Starr) (hidden trackHidden trackIn the field of recorded music, a hidden track is a piece of music that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, vinyl record or other recorded medium in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener...
, begins at 16:06 after 13:13 of silence- a reference to the superstitious nature of their previous effort 13 Ways to Bleed on Stage) - 3:07
- "Gone Away" (A Song for Starr) (hidden track
Personnel
- Terry Balsamo - guitars
- Kelly Hayes - guitar
- Scooter Ward - vocals
- Sam McCandless - drums
- Jeremy Marshall - bass guitar
- Howard Benson - piano, keyboards, programming, producer, soloist
- Adam Daniel - digital editing
- Fred Durst - A&R
- Samuel Fischer - violin
- Julie Gigante - violin
- Jason Harter - art direction, design
- Olaf Heine - photography
- Ted Jensen - mastering
- Vince Jones - digital editing
- Roland Kato - viola
- Armen Ksajikian - cello
- Jason Lader - digital editing
- Ana Landauer - violin
- Songa Lee - violin
- Phillipe Levy - violin
- Jenn Littleton - A&R
- Chris Lord-Alge - mixing
- David Low - cello, contractor
- Deborah Lurie - conductor, string arrangements, synthesizer strings
- Eric Miller - engineer, digital editing
- Martie Muhoberac - production coordination
- Simon Oswell - viola
- Mike Plotnikoff - engineer, digital editing
- Mark Robertson - concertmaster
- Jordan Schur - executive producer, A&R
- Les Scurry - production coordination
- David Speltz - cello
- Casey Stone - engineer
- Sierra Swan - vocals
- Michael Valerio - bass
- Evan Wilson - viola
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | The Billboard 200 | 3 |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Stupid Girl" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 4 |
| Modern Rock Tracks | 6 | ||
| The Billboard Hot 100 | 87 | ||
| "Suffocate" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 17 | |
| Modern Rock Tracks | 21 |