Cold Black River

COLD BLACK RIVER CD RELEASE – WED., OCTOBER 31, 2018 – THE WISCO – MADISON, WI
MrBill | October 15, 2018 | *MMR PICKS | No Comments
This show is a killer line-up! CORTEGE, ROYAL STATION, COLD BLACK RIVER, THE SCHISMS. Trust me on this one; all these bands kick ass! … I couldn’t be more excited.

This Halloween show is also going to be the official CD release party for Cold Black River’s latest release – Tales of Death & The Devil.

Cold Black River was formed in 2015 by Eric Cobb (vox/bass), Jeremy Roseland (guitar), and Aaron Kanitz (drums). The band was twice nominated for the MAMA (Madison Area Music Association) Awards, and performed in the MAMA Breakthrough Artist competition 2016, as well as garnering a nomination for a WAMI (Wisconsin Area Music Industry) award for best metal artist. Tales of Death & The Devil is the band’s fourth release.

I got the chance to listen to an advance copy of Tales of Death & The Devil and thought it was really great. According to the band, “We wanted to craft a stripped-down heavy sound with doom metal influences, decent hooks, and vocals you could hear and understand. We think our sound has given us a broader audience and allowed us to reach more people with our music.”

CBR eases us into the heaviness on this album with the sludgy instrumental Numbers Station > The Deserts of Mars (which sounds like it could be a track by Earth) but then lights right into Keep Rollin‘. The last time I caught CBR performing in Madison they were working out some of the new songs – and Keep Rollin’ was a hot number and well-received on the floor. CBR continues the heat through the remainder of the album.

Madison has some great heavy metal bands; Cold Black River is one of them. Tales of Death & The Devil is solid from front to back, and it well captures the musical energy of Cold Black River – and if you’ve seen their show you understand: “it is good.”

Get out to this show. Support local live music. This night is gonna be killah… Did I mention that it is also Halloween? - Madison Music Review

Cold Black River
Hillbilly Zeus
Record Label: Cold Black River
Artist's Facebook
Review by Sal Serio
October 2015
Behold the five song teaser CD by the formidable Madison hard rock trio Cold Black River. Not only is the river cold and black, the album artwork [by Tessa Najjar] is stark black and white pen and ink pointillism, portraying a seedy and somewhat disturbing side of swampy Southern culture.

The music itself is not necessarily black, but it is certainly very dark. An apocalyptic mood hangs over these intense tracks. Eric Cobb’s vocal gives the impression of a high priest chanting invocations at a Satanic ritual, or perhaps he’s the radio announcer on a tour through Hell.

Drummer Aaron Kanitz drives these throbbing compositions with a fevered and fervored pace, which constructs the bridge over the cavernous abyss created by the looming, spacious, riffs. Cobb’s eerie vocal again conjures up a horror show visual in this allegory, like he is the demonic presence that demands an unholy sacrifice from all who wish to cross over to the other side. Indeed, the title track, “Hillbilly Zeus”, includes the lyric, “Got to pay the ferryman, no one rides for free”. This music should scare the shit out of the kids when they come ‘round trick or treating this Halloween! [Adding new emphasis to the Charlie Brown saying, “I got a rock!”] - Maximum Ink

Artist's Facebook
by Mike Huberty
October 2017

A fat sludge of doom-y sound slithering right into your earholes, COLD BLACK RIVER is Madison’s minor chord distorted retort to the happy Electronic Pop on the radio. If you haven’t heard Doom rock before, think of it as slower blues-based heavy riffs with deep bellowing vocals. And the lyrics are usually about something horrific, like the fact that there is no God, but if there was he would hate you. Or monsters and demons eating your soul, killing children, etc… stuff like that. It’s called DOOM for a reason!

COLD BLACK RIVER is what you get when former HELLIPHANT bassist and guitarist Eric Cobb and Jeremy Roseland decided to take on a new project that combined the power of the riff-rock that they loved with more exciting vocals and more hook-oriented songwriting. Aaron
Kanitz soon joined them on drums, and they released their first album, Ancient Depths in 2013 followed by Hillbilly Zeus two years later.

They’ll be performing in the Madison area several times this month and we talked with bassist and vocalist Eric Cobb to preview their shows!

MI: Who are the bands that the guys in CBR can all agree on?
EC: Definitely Clutch. A lot of people associate us with them after they hear us for the first time. We also get the Alice in Chains references as well, and naturally, we identify with that sound. It goes without saying that Black Sabbath and Kyuss are influences of ours. We love all of these bands.

MI: Why do you love metal? Why doom?
EC: We consider Cold Black River to be Blues tinged, Doom influenced Rock. It puts us in a unique position. We can play straight out Metal shows, we can play straight up Rock shows, and everything in between. We gravitate toward the Metal/Rock scene as our community. We all love the different sounds and people that play it. It is our way of having a great time.

Like a lot of artists, we chose Metal as our form of expression. We like being able to tell weird, interesting stories and talking about different and odd subjects. Metal caters to that and that’s why we love it. We also enjoy playing music that is dynamic. Metal provides a platform for that.

MI: What COLD BLACK RIVER track is the best way for people to get to know the band?
EC: “Hillbilly Zeus” is one we would select. It’s title track to our 2015 EP. It has a deep Doom groove to it and tells a fun and twisted story. “Dystopia” and “The Great Equalizer” are close seconds.

MI: What’s the inspiration behind the song?
EC: I got this riff stuck in my head one day and just started playing over and over again. I’ve always been fascinated by stories and storytelling. Some of the best stories are ancient myths and legends. I’ve always wanted to write a song about “the old Gods” so I started with Zeus and his family. It’s the perfect song to introduce people to CBR because when you listen to it, it really grabs onto you.

MI: You guys have a lot of horror themes and you did in Helliphant as well, where does that come from lyrically?
EC: There are so many great stories that have been told through horror. Horror is my first go to genre for books, movies, and the like. The Metal and Rock scene provide a great place to tell those stories to like-minded people. There’s nothing better than to have the audience recognize an H.P. Lovecraft or Night of the Living Dead reference in one of our tunes.

MI: What’s been your favorite show so far?
EC: Our hometown shows are really great. Playing the Frequency is always a blast. We get a lot of love at The Wisco too. Reptile Palace in Oshkosh is amazing as well. Anytime you play a show and the audience knows your tunes it’s incredible. When the audience becomes the fourth member of the band – those are the nights we remember the most. Also, when the weird come out to play.

MI: What’s coming up for you guys this Fall?
EC: On October 11th we are bringing Austin’s Drone Masters CORTEGE to The Wisco. We are pleased to be performing at Maximum Ink’s 15th Annual Halloween Spööktakular October 27th, and the following night, we hit The Back Bar in Janesville for their Halloween gig.

Currently we are working on new material for an upcoming EP release we hope to get out at the top of next year. More Cosmic Horror coming your way. In the meantime, we are booking a few more shows here and there to play with friends and enjoy the few remaining months of 2017 before the Earth is destroyed by an asteroid or a planet or something.

MI: What can people expect from the Cold Black River live show at the Wisconsin October 11th? Give me the nasty details.
EC: We don’t want to give too much away other than to say it will be weird, creepy and loud. We will have the show on full tilt with a ton of energy and a few surprises.

MI: Do you find anything inspiring about the Madison music scene? What do you love about it?
EC: The Madison scene, for us, is tight. It’s very supportive and less competitive that some other cities scenes. There is a massive amount of talent here. You have to be on your game. It’s challenging, in a good way, which makes it fun. You always want to be at your best around here.

We love the scene for the reason everyone loves this scene: the people. There are folks who have been around for decades that have performed and supported the scene and even the new, up-and-coming bands are stellar. Madison loves music and supports original music in ways rarely seen today. We’re very, very lucky to be based here.

MI: Why do you love metal? Why doom?
EC: We consider Cold Black River to be Blues tinged, Doom influenced Rock. It puts us in a unique position. We can play straight out Metal shows, we can play straight up Rock shows, and everything in between. We gravitate toward the Metal/Rock scene as our community. We all love the different sounds and people that play it. It is our way of having a great time.

Like a lot of artists, we chose Metal as our form of expression. We like being able to tell weird, interesting stories and talking about different and odd subjects. Metal caters to that and that’s why we love it. We also enjoy playing music that is dynamic. Metal provides a platform for that.

MI: What COLD BLACK RIVER track is the best way for people to get to know the band?
EC: “Hillbilly Zeus” is one we would select. It’s title track to our 2015 EP. It has a deep Doom groove to it and tells a fun and twisted story. “Dystopia” and “The Great Equalizer” are close seconds.

MI: What’s the inspiration behind the song?
EC: I got this riff stuck in my head one day and just started playing over and over again. I’ve always been fascinated by stories and storytelling. Some of the best stories are ancient myths and legends. I’ve always wanted to write a song about “the old Gods” so I started with Zeus and his family. It’s the perfect song to introduce people to CBR because when you listen to it, it really grabs onto you.

MI: You guys have a lot of horror themes and you did in Helliphant as well, where does that come from lyrically?
EC: There are so many great stories that have been told through horror. Horror is my first go to genre for books, movies, and the like. The Metal and Rock scene provide a great place to tell those stories to like-minded people. There’s nothing better than to have the audience recognize an H.P. Lovecraft or Night of the Living Dead reference in one of our tunes.

MI: What’s been your favorite show so far?
EC: Our hometown shows are really great. Playing the Frequency is always a blast. We get a lot of love at The Wisco too. Reptile Palace in Oshkosh is amazing as well. Anytime you play a show and the audience knows your tunes it’s incredible. When the audience becomes the fourth member of the band – those are the nights we remember the most. Also, when the weird come out to play.

MI: What’s coming up for you guys this Fall?
EC: On October 11th we are bringing Austin’s Drone Masters CORTEGE to The Wisco. We are pleased to be performing at Maximum Ink’s 15th Annual Halloween Spööktakular October 27th, and the following night, we hit The Back Bar in Janesville for their Halloween gig.

Currently we are working on new material for an upcoming EP release we hope to get out at the top of next year. More Cosmic Horror coming your way. In the meantime, we are booking a few more shows here and there to play with friends and enjoy the few remaining months of 2017 before the Earth is destroyed by an asteroid or a planet or something.

MI: What can people expect from the Cold Black River live show at the Wisconsin October 11th? Give me the nasty details.
EC: We don’t want to give too much away other than to say it will be weird, creepy and loud. We will have the show on full tilt with a ton of energy and a few surprises.

MI: Do you find anything inspiring about the Madison music scene? What do you love about it?
EC: The Madison scene, for us, is tight. It’s very supportive and less competitive that some other cities scenes. There is a massive amount of talent here. You have to be on your game. It’s challenging, in a good way, which makes it fun. You always want to be at your best around here.

We love the scene for the reason everyone loves this scene: the people. There are folks who have been around for decades that have performed and supported the scene and even the new, up-and-coming bands are stellar. Madison loves music and supports original music in ways rarely seen today. We’re very, very lucky to be based here. - Maximum Ink

Record Label: Cold Black River Music
Artist's Facebook
by Sal Serio
April 2016

When I reviewed the Cold Black River CD E.P. ‘Hillbilly Zeus’ this past October, I coaxed descriptive associations using words like dark, disturbing, apocalyptic, and demonic. Upon further contemplation, that was quite accurate! It’s the soundtrack to the journey across the River Styx to the Land of the Dead. Your own journey will be far less perilous, as Cold Black River perform at The Frequency in Madison twice in April. Saturday, April 16, is Bomblastica 2016 (Maximum Ink’s 20th anniversary party) with Cold Black River, Motherhive, Subatomic, and Droids Attack. Saturday, April 30 features Cold Black River with The Garza and The Gran Fury.

MAXIMUM INK: Eric and Jeremy played together in Helliphant before this band, but how did (drummer) Aaron come in to the picture?

AARON KANITZ: Jeremy and I had played in a band years ago. He hit me up out of the blue one day when they were looking for a full-time drummer. I was pretty stoked when I heard the first couple tracks they had started. It was a project that fell right in line with what I had been looking to work on for a long time. After a few practices it felt like home.

MI: Eric, you used to play guitar but are now on bass in Cold Black River. Do you like the change, and what opportunities does it open up for you as the lead singer?

ERIC COBB: I do like the change. When I began playing music I started out on guitar. Later, in a lot of the punk bands I performed with in Fort Smith and Tulsa, I switched to drums and vocals out of necessity. When I originally joined Helliphant, I was asked to replace Darwin on bass, as he had stepped away for a time. When Darwin returned, instead of giving me the boot, they asked if I’d stay on as rhythm guitar and backing vocals. The rest has been a drunken blur. I’ve been singing and performing with an instrument my whole life. Performing with the bass does offer me opportunities to more closely concentrate on the vocals and have more fun with them. I get a chance to test and expand my range of different voices.

MI: Jeremy, I have heard your guitar style change and metamorphose over the years, from shedding metal, to more of a chordal punk sound, to now more atmospheric doom metal. What influences you and inspires your guitar playing?

JEREMY ROSELAND: As odd as it may sound my longtime favorite has always been Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top. His playing always has a down and dirty lyrical quality to it. You can hear a lot of his influence in the CBR solos, more so than most of the other bands I’ve been in. Like Billy, most of my other long time faves have been less technical players: Tim Sult from Clutch, Josh Homme from Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age, Tony Iommi, Hendrix, etc… Of course I do still dabble with the shred. Steve Vai has always been an influence. He’s a very creative shredder and anyone that can hang with Zappa is fine by me. When I started playing, I had a weird mix of influences going on from 80s shred, thrash, punk, and classic rock, to straight up blues and even (gasp) country. Good playing is good, regardless of what style it is. After all the years I tend to stick with blues-based playing for my core and add in a little shred when it’s going to be effective to the song.

MI: Your recent CD was more of a mini-album/E.P. Are there plans for a full-length follow-up?

EC: In 2014 we self-produced a demo with just our logo on the front and four songs: “Shotgun”, “Hollow Man”, “Voices”, and “Old West Undertaker”. Last year we released the ‘Hillbilly Zeus’ E.P. with five tunes. We had Eli Quinn, the artist who designed artwork for The Garza and Droids Attack, design our t-shirt and stickers. They look amazing. We are currently working on a full-length CD that we plan to record this month at Dustin Boyle’s Class A Studios here in Madison. We really like the direction we’re going with this new material, and can’t wait to get it out there. We’ve been slowly adding to our set lists, and people are noticing the new stuff and seem to dig it.

MI: I am glad to see local rock bands taking care with the artwork presentation on their CD releases, and Tessa Najjar’s artwork on the ‘Hillbilly Zeus’ E.P. really helped to define that statement. What can you tell me about Tessa?

EC: This lady is stellar. We met Tessa (https://www.facebook.com/TessaNajjarDesignIllustration) on this stoner/doom metal Facebook group. She’s an artist who lives in France, who was looking to do some artwork for heavy bands. We sent her a copy of the “Hillbilly Zeus” song and lyrics, and asked her to send us whatever inspired her. She was very drawn to Medusa and sent us those sketches first. Once we saw Medusa, we knew we had our artist. After receiving Zeus, Cerberus, and Poseidon, we asked if she’d do Hades for the inside cover, and she obliged. Needless to say her artwork for the CD and the individual character posters have been a real hit.

MI: Talk about your experience playing on the “Bordello Of Horror” TV show. That’s a good way to reach a wider audience… has anything come about as a result of that show? Did you know Rich Peterson (aka “Freakshow”) beforehand?

EC: Performing on “Bordello Of Horror” was a genuine trip. Jeremy knew Freakshow from back in the day, and had periodically been hitting him up to do the show. They shoot everything in one day at Madison Media Institute. We arrived at the studio after coming home from a 3 day out-of-towner. We were beat, and their crew was beat because we were the last of eight or ten bands they had recorded that day. Everyone was loopy, but professional, [and it] went off without a hitch. It’s kind of crazy to be interviewed by a dude in all green makeup, hamming it up as this outlandish character, then jamming one of your tunes. We actually got a gig from that episode, and thought it turned out pretty killer.

MI: You’re hitting the road pretty often. What are some of your favorite cities to play? Any plans for more wide scale touring?

EC: After nearly three years, we’ve managed to make some great friends throughout Wisconsin. We perform in Oshkosh and Wausau a lot, and we’re starting to break in to Milwaukee more. We want to reach out regionally to more places like Chicago, the Twin Cities, St. Louis, and further. Our latest goal is to try to hook up with a touring band, opening up for them on a half dozen dates. We meet so many bands that book their own tours around the country and are gone three or more months at a time.

MI: Since you gig so often with the other local hard rock/punk bands, and play many different Madison venues, how would you sum up the local “sound”, or the local scene, in general?

EC: That’s tricky. Madison is Madison like Chicago is Chicago, or Austin is Austin. It’s a unique bird. If you’re talking the rock scene, some bands do have what could be called a “Madison sound”, but for every one of them there are ten other bands of varying genre that forgo that stereotype. There’s also a unique camaraderie here. Fellow bands and fans support each other, even during the rough patches, and it builds a better scene. You never want for a good show in Madison. More often than not you have to make a tough choice as to which killer show to go to. - Maximum Ink

O Cold Black River estreou seu desert doom este ano com o álbum Ancient Depths, disponível no Bandcamp, onde você também encontra a demo pra download grátis.

https://coldblackriver.bandcamp.com/album/demo - Whiplash