Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

You would expect nothing else but total, pure and honest, pulsating rock when you think of the genre as it appears and sounds in the countries that make up the Scandinavian heartlands, to think anything different is to be on the same plane of thought that suggest the Earth is flat and that arguing for war is a noble art form.

For Coldspell, A New World Arise is just further affirmation that the idealism embraced by the countries at the Northern end of Europe truly works, that they get why Rock and Metal across all its forms is not dying on its backside as some might suggest, but instead it breathes wildly with excitement, it dashes about with the beers and cases of whatever spirit is handy underneath one arm and with the other is gladly making sure that the listener has their ears cleaned out to receive the music and lyrics on offer.

In Niclas Swedentorp’s vocals the passion of the lyrics, the sense of identity and the that solid beat of Perra Johansson’s drums which accompanies Micke Larsson guitar and Chris Goldsmith’s bass, all come together with the unity that you want from the genre, a similar sound to legends such as Helloween, incredible observation, cool riffs and the joy of expression; a sense of equality that comes from the dynamic that does not falter and has really caught the imagination of their fans.

A New World Arise, perhaps the start of the third great wave of Rock, guitar influenced, but one that really adopts the sentiment and meaning of that which has held the allure of Scandinavian bands for a generation but has which become symbolic of all that is good in the Nordic atmospheric air.

In tracks such as the fist clenching opener Forevermore, It Hurts, Miles Away, Love Me Like You Do and Wait Till Tomorrow, Coldspell accept the challenge in which the likes of Eric Clapton proclaims that the guitar may be dead and proves with stunning assuredness that it is most defiantly not.

A New World Arise indeed, sometimes it comes from a place which might not be expected but it nevertheless comes forth and sets down the foundation stone to which it must be honoured.

Ian D. Hall