Cold Kiss – Thanks for Asking!

Cold Kiss – Thanks for Asking! by Liam Sweeny.

We made a connection with Adam and the hardcore band Cold Kiss. Here are some cool words we found.

RRX: Every comic book hero has an origin story. What is the origin story for the band? (points if you tell it like a comic book origin.)

CK: The band I (Adam) was in previously (Hour of Lead) unofficially disbanded during the Covid pandemic.  After the lockdowns ended, I went to the Terror/Dying Fetus show at Empire Live and saw a long-time friend Ben Shaw outside of the show.  Ben, originally from Syracuse, had moved to Albany with his partner at the time.  I had met Ben when he was playing drums in Forfeit and would always see each other traveling to different hardcore shows.  We spoke outside the gig, and he told me he was living in Albany.  I asked if he was in any bands, and he said he hadn’t played in quite some time.  I convinced him that we should get together and play.

The first practice was 01/08/2022 and it was just Ben and me.  We knew we wanted to write hardcore in the vein of Biohazard, Crown of Thornz, TUI, Madball etc., so we just kind of messed around for a bit.  It had been a while since either of us had been in a hardcore band proper.

As far as other members go, I filled in for Born Low throughout their time as a band, and officially joined for the last leg of that band.  I always loved Kyle’s (Born Low) voice, and knew I wanted him in it if he was down.  Ben and I wrote two songs (Galvanized and Wasteland), and he was very into it.  My longtime friend Alex had never been in a band before, so I asked him to play bass.  We wrote 5 songs total in and recorded them in May of 2022. First song we recorded/last song we recorded.

RRX: Every band’s first song is a milestone. But so is the latest song. Describe the first song/album you recorded, and also the latest song/album you recorded; what are the differences?

CK: We recorded our 5 song EP/demo/whatever in May of 2022.  I’m not sure what song we recorded first per se, but I know we did all 5 in a weekend and it was a god damn nightmare.  There are things I would change about each of them now, as we hadn’t played a show at that point, but I still listen to them and like them to this day.

We just released a two-song promo with “Pushing 4 War” and “Measure the Loss” on it.  We recorded those in May of 2023, just one year after recording our first release.  It took us just as long to record two songs as it did five this time around.  I think that speaks to the overall development in the music.  I can say that these two songs really showcase exactly what Cold Kiss is: hardcore, nothing else.

RRX: Like songs, every band has a unique feeling about their first show. What was your first show like? Was it your best show? If not, what was your best show like?

CK: Our first show was Black Friday 2022 at No Fun.  We had been trying to figure out what a good first show would be, trying to think of hardcore bands we wanted to play with etc., but nothing was lining up with stuff we wanted to do, or with other local promoters.

We asked Prize, Sunbloc and Halo Bite if they wanted to play an all-local show on Black Friday at No Fun, and they agreed.  It turned into the Prize “Celebrate This” tape release and the first hardcore show at No. It sold out before Halo Bite even played, above and beyond everyone’s expectations.  I would say this was a good first show, we played alright, great turnout etc.

We have since made Black Friday an annual thing.  This year’s second installment features Broken Vow, Deal With God, Spiritkiller and Cinnamon (along with Cold Kiss).

Best show is subjective.  I wouldn’t say our first show was our best, nor would I think any band would.  Without talking to my bandmates, I would say the show we were able to play at the Hoff in Holyoke MA with Balmora and xNomadx was one of our best shows.  Super small room, people going off the entire time, and we opened the show.  Everyone should support Western MA hardcore shows and The Hoff.

RRX: Music genres are difficult for some bands. Some strictly adhere; others not so much. What is your perspective on the genre you play, or the genres you hover around?

CK: We play hardcore music, plain and simple.  Everyone in the band has been involved in hardcore in some form or another for an extended period of time.  The beautiful thing about this genre is that it isn’t as much as sound as it is a code of ethics.  You can have bands like Big Boy and Hold My Own being referred to as a hardcore band just the same as Godskin Peeler or Balmora; completely different sonically, same outlook.

Hardcore as a whole is in an awesome place right now.  Tons of new bands, with young kids in them writing dope ass music.  It’s sick.

RRX: It’s a lot of fun living in the present, but we all collect memories and give birth to dreams. We’re talking dreams here. Where you see yourself next year? In the next five years?

CK: Cold Kiss in one year?  Hopefully writing more music, putting it out on a cool label.  We love a ton of the smaller labels doing it because they love it.  Shout out Streets of Hate, Rebirth Records, Takedown Records, From Within Records, Never Ran Never Will Records.

In five years?  I hope we get to play a cool fest.  That was always a goal from the beginning and something we all talked about.  We all grew up going to United Blood (RIP) and This Is Hardcore.  Now there are so many other cool fests, FYA, LDB etc.  Hopefully we get to play one of those.

RRX: We all get a little support from those around us. And we also can be impressed by our fellow bands. Who do you admire in your community, and why?

CK: Who do we admire in the community?  Here is the super specific answer.  Syracuse Hardcore has been killing it the past few years.  Lukas, Colin and Dylan (so many others to name) have been working so hard to build up that scene and it’s really paying off.  The giant shows like Mindforce down to the small gigs like Age of Apocalypse have been awesome and the DIY venue Silver Street they have is awesome.  Scenes start small, and if you keep working towards bigger and bigger things, the scene will grow.  They inspired me (Adam) to start booking more of our own shows and starting the Albany Hardcore Instagram.

Not specific.  Anyone who starts a hardcore band, books a show, starts a record label, does a zine, does a podcast, hits the pit at a gig.  Put your phones down and be present.

Adam Merendino of Cold Kiss

Their self titled 2022 ep and 2023 promo single are available on streaming services and bandcamp.

More from Liam Sweeny…