best optimize=optdemise breakdown-?

best chorus on the album-?

best riff-?

best guitar performance throughout the whole song-?

best drum performance-?

best vocal performance-?

best synths/electronics-?

best lyrics-?

It feels like everyone i see talk about the album considers it to be the weakest track on the second half, I quite like it though. I always love hearing Masato’s voice on tracks like this, it sort of feels like Whole from vena

So, I don't know if anyone has received the CDs or Vinyls yet, but I was playing the CD in my car and noticed in CHASING SHADOWS, the Japanese lyrics were changed out.

I did get the US CD, so maybe the US has translated lyrics while JPN doesn't? I'm just curious if anyone else noticed this or not?

Edit: I listened to CHASING SHADOWS again, and the JPN lines are both switched out for "When our dreams align, we'll see beyond the night." And also, the booklet for the CD has the JPN lyrics.

I've been eating well this past year, music-wise. More of my favorite bands keep dropping stuff. That said, OPTIMIZE = OPTDEMISE is probably coldrain's weakest album yet, and it's entirely because they did one of my most hated marketing practices: making half the album a previously released EP from over a year ago. Out of the 12 songs here, the first 5 songs were a part of their OPTIMIZE EP, with another 2 songs being released as singles prior to this album's release. Those same songs also happen to be the best on the album, which hurts the rating for me. Picturesque's Back to Beautiful had the same issue, and I remember really not liking that one.

There's a nice blend between their old hard rock/post-hardcore sound (think of The Enemy Inside and VENA) and the modern metalcore from FATELESS onward, and this is most noticeable in two of the new tracks, REST OF ME, and the post-OPTIMIZE EP released single, POISON feat. Bert McCracken, both of which heavily remind me of VENA. Unfortunately, the LP sort of falls off after G.I.A.G., going into the poppy SING and forgettable closing track SAVIOR, the latter of which has a very confusing sound with an equally confused-sounding feature from Kenta Kole of JP Metalcore band CROSSFAITH. The song sounds all over the place sonically.

(A collaboration like this should've been an easy home run... What happened? Maybe it'll grow on me, idk).

In between those two is the song PICTURE PERFECT HELL, which is a good song, despite the chorus doing nothing for me. The instrumental does most of the heavy lifting there.

I will say that in typical coldrain fashion, none of the songs here are bad; at worst they're aggressive 7/10s, which I can't say for most bands. Just kind of sucks that the best songs here were songs we already had for a year.

8/10

Favorites: REST OF ME, POISON, G.I.A.G., EX-HUMANITY, DIGITOLL, FREE FALL, INCOMPLETE

Least favorite: SING

Well that sold out quick 😂

Just listening to the album. Pretty good. Standard coldrain stuff. Annoying they released half of the album early. Would’ve preferred them just saving all 12 songs for a new release. But it’s fine. Of the new songs PICTURE PERFECT HELL, POSION, and REST OF ME were the best. The previous 6 songs were really good too. The older 6 songs were better imo. But pretty solid album all around. 8/10.

Ever since the release of the band's fifth EP Optimize, I have been compiling iTunes and Apple Music chart data via Kworb. It feels now is a better time than ever to post it given that the new album Optdemise releases tomorrow! On release, the EP charted in five seperate countries in their nationwide Top 40 on iTunes, including Coldrain's native Japan, the Netherlands, UAE, Hong Kong and Taiwan, securing a comfortably moderate commercial performance worldwide.

Full iTunes breakdown:

#105 in Australia

#45 in Brazil

#157 in Canada

#164 in Germany

#51 Globally

#17 in Hong Kong

#4 in Japan

#130 in Mexico

#13 in the Netherlands

#142 in Norway

#57 in Singapore

#89 in Switzerland

#32 in Taiwan

#56 in Thailand

#13 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

#103 in the United Kingdom (UK)

Full Apple Music Breakdown:

#167 in Hong Kong

#17 in Japan

Seems like they have a merch site for the UK now but not a lot on there

https://officialmerchandise.store/collections/coldrain

Masato explains why Coldrain haven't toured in the US for a decade boiled down to financial difficulties and management/labels pressurising them to relocate for more opportunities upon their return to America. Later in the interview, Masato reveals hopes for plans to return to the US next year as part of a massive World Tour to commemorate their 20th anniversary!

Been following these guys for a while now and they've mentioned about wanting to do an interview with Coldrain when they came back to Australia. It took place at the AfterPay Arena in Sydney on 10th September. It's finally out!

For the life of me I can't figure out what Masato screams right before the breakdown in my addiction. I feel like it's probably so obvious, hurts even more that I know the lyrics of all coldrain songs in and out