Gold Coast metallic hardcore outfit Cold Blood have been grinding away since late 2017, sparked by a late-night idea between friends. “Five homies hanging outside of a Nightowl at 12 am thought it would be a fun idea to create metallic hardcore so that our other homies can mosh to it,” guitarist Dylan Moore tells No Echo. With members already active in the same circles, the foundation was simple: write riffs, keep it heavy, and make something that felt natural to their shared background.
That approach carries straight into the Aussie band’s sound, as vocalist Tom Belcher explains. “We have always drawn inspiration from ’90s NYC hardcore and even death metal but with a modern heavy hardcore attitude,” says the frontman, citing influences like World of Pain, Obituary, Sepultura, Merauder, and Suffocation. “We just love riffs.”
That mindset is front and center on Nothing to Give, Cold Blood's latest release, which pushes their sound further into aggressive territory. “We just wanted to be a little more intense with our songs—more blasts, faster tempos, more leads,” Moore says. The band once again worked with former bassist Liam Kriz to help shape the recording, a process they say felt essential to capturing the final result. On the lyrical side, Belcher keeps things rooted in both the personal and the external. “It’s my interpretation of the world around me, plus some personal battles I’ve had to endure recently,” he says.
Cold Blood are also part of a growing and energized music community on the Gold Coast. “Our local scene is doing pretty well at the moment—lots of fresh young bands added to the mix which is sick,” Moore notes, shouting out names like Deathproof, Blindside, Glory Days, No Harm, Cerebral Erosion, and Sick People as bands to watch.
With Nothing to Give now out, the band is wrapping up their current tour run and already looking ahead. “We’re finishing our tour this weekend, ending in Wollongong and Canberra,” Moore says. “We’re planning our next run of shows and hoping to hit the cities we missed—maybe even a split with an international band later this year.”
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Nothing to Give is out now via Fowl Taste on digital music services (Spotify, Apple), and the vinyl version is up for pre-order here.
Cold Blood on social media: Instagram
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