One of my bass bros, Doug Odell, who also played with TNA, Ted Poley, and my old singer Ray West, sent me an email a while back to let me know about this new project he’s been working on. For some reason, I never got to it. Recently, I received an email from another buddy of mine, Matt Ferrara, mentioning the exact project that Doug was telling me about a couple of months earlier. Just so you all know, if my head wasn’t attached to my body, I would lose it, meaning if you’ve sent me something, I will eventually get to review it. Anyway, the name of the band is Coldsteel, and they are awesome! The problem is that Coldsteel are not a new band. In fact, they’ve been around since 1986. They’ve only recently reformed, and from the sounds of it, haven’t skipped a beat.
According to their bio, Coldsteel was originally formed by Dom Mincieli of the band Kronin. Coldsteel was originally put together only to perform covers from bands like Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth and Overkill. You get the idea! They played these covers so well that they gained some quick notoriety, so they decided to try their hand writing their own music. By the summer of 1987, with Dom on drums, Adam Rosen on bass, singer Troy Norr and guitarist Ave Casas collaborated and delivered Coldsteel’s first original song, “Dead By Dawn.” Rosen would eventually leave, allowing bassist Rick Lopez to come in and help write the song “Crackdown,” which would become Coldsteel’s anthem for many years to come. The group would release their first four-song demo, Dead By Dawn, in 1989. Tragically, only days after receiving the first shipment of Dead By Dawn cassettes, Dom died in an auto accident. The band was urged by friends and Dom’s family to keep his legacy alive by forging ahead. They released their second demo, Perfect, in 1991, which led to the group signing with German record label Turbo Music, and then the release of their first full-length album, Freakboy. Unfortunately, Turbo Music went under, but Freakboy was distributed by Relativity Records in the U.S. In 1993, Coldsteel disbanded due to creative differences.
In 2012, Coldsteel reformed with a whole new lineup, including original singer Troy Norr, guitarists Eddie Campbell and Joe Shavel, bassist Doug Odell, and drummer Hal Aponte. Since reforming, the band has released a new five-song CD called America Idle, which features the title-track, “Blood Secrets,” and my favorite song, “You Lose.” If you love old Anthrax or Testament, you will love this quintet! Their plan for 2013 is to tour in support of America Idle, and you can see them opening for the legendary UDO this April. Log onto coldsteelny.com to find out more about Coldsteel.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
My bass big brother from Spread Eagle, Rob DeLuca, recently emailed me to let me know that his personal side-project, Of Earth, have released the leadoff single off of the band’s upcoming CD, The Monarch. The song is called “Prototype,” and it is awesome! Download the track now at cdbaby.com/cd/ofearth2. Rob is currently on the road with the legendary U.F.O. and will be back with Spread Eagle on May 3 at Dingbatz with me and my boys BlackOcean opening.
A few weeks ago, my bro Rob Carlyle of The Compulsions was interviewed by DJ Reverend Eddi of a UK radio station called TBFM. After the interview, Eddi asked Rob to write a jingle for his radio show. So, Rob wrote “Rockin’ With The Reverend,” a brand new 30-second theme song that became an instant hit with Eddi’s fanbase. You can hear the jingle now at soundcloud.com/the-compulsions/rockin-with-the-reverend.
And finally, I mentioned a few weeks ago the state of one of my favorite local Jersey groups, Scarlet Carson, since the departure of singer Santino Noir. I mentioned that guitarist Tommy Herres would be taking over as lead singer, but what I didn’t mention is that there will also be a new face added to the band. The Scarlet Carson boys have decided to fill Tommy’s void on guitar, but they refuse to mention who the new guitarist is. Instead, they plan on introducing the new look of Scarlet Carson with back-to-back headlining shows at The Saint on March 16 and 17. Also performing on March 16 will be Kid Felix, Vextion, and Candace Schur, while on March 17, they’ll deliver the knockout blow with Panzie*, Westnyle, and Seas Of Wake. For tickets, you can email scarletcarsonofficial@gmail.com, and for more info on these epic shows, log onto scarletcarsonofficial.com.
That’s all for now! If your band is from North Jersey, and you want some exposure, send your press kits to Arts Weekly, c/o Tim Louie P.O. Box 1140, Little Falls, NJ 07424, or you can email me at tim@theaquarian.com, where you can also let me know where you’re performing next!
Just remember….We’re all in the same boat, so every little bit of exposure counts!
Tim Louie is the Author of S**t Happens.
NJN Concert Calendar:
3/15—Ashes Within/As Days Fade/Metalfier/Unveiled—Webster Hall, NYC
3/16—Cyperna/Eyes Of The Dead/Eye Of Anubis/Gyre/Negative Sky/BluntGuts/Mass Punishment/Stagger/Darkness Descends/Scars Of Envy—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
3/16—Star Killer/Panzie*/Resolution 15/JennCity/Dead Rocking Horse—Bowery Ballroom, NYC
3/16—Nasty Trast/Kore Rozzik/Station—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/17—Stellar Corpses/Darrow Chemical Company/Bad Whoremoans/Zero—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/19—John Rango—The Twisted Elm, Elmwood Park, NJ
3/21—Thanatotic Desire/Leech/Canopy Veil—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/22—Kosmic Daydream—Hat City Kitchen, Orange, NJ
3/23—Wrath Of Killenstein/Ixion Lux/Division 1.1/Eve Disaster/Ashes Of Your Enemy—Roxy and Dukes Roadhouse, Dunellen, NJ
3/23—Dead Fish Handshake/Statik Silence/Gathering After Ashes/Crewman Number Six/Moises Christopher—Crossroads, Garwood, NJ
3/23—The Mike Bino Project/Tango Down/Crossing Rubicon—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/24—Venus Vegas/Casualty/Long Gone Day/XNY—Sullivan Hall, NYC
3/24—Close2Death/Pocketful/Pyramada/Perception/Vextion/Black Tooth Grin/DJ Var Lynn After Hours/Last Call—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
3/24—Faster Pussycat/The Art/Big Hair Daze/Bad Habbit/Operatika Element—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/28—Nuse—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/29—Murphy’s Law /Stigma/Brick By Brick/The Last Stand/Stagnant Life/Darrow Chemical Company/Skunk Daze—The Blue Room, Secaucus, NJ
3/30—Dead Fish Handshake/New Theory/Beyond Visible/Gathering After Ashes/Reach—The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ
3/30—Aurin—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/5—Audio Machine/Cycle Of Pain—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
4/6—Sexy Heroes/Mindfire/Brand Of Juliez/trnzprnt/Earthbound—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/7—Downlow Nyhc/InDisguise/Devil Haus—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
