Album Review: Coldworker - “The Contaminated Void”

What was probably considered Sweden’s most famous grind band Nasum broke up when guitarist/vocalist and founding member Mieszko Talarczyk was killed in the tsunami disaster near the end of 2004. Two years later drummer Anders Jakobson formed a new band, that band being Coldworker.

Coldworker isn’t a continuation of Nasum, although it does contain some grind. Instead, Coldworker generally plays what sounds to my ears like something that would fit in with Polish death metal such as Vader and Lost Soul. There are some songs that have a lot more focus on old school grind with the power chords running up and down the guitar neck supported by blast beats and such, but these moments aren’t spread evenly throughout the entire album leaving lots of songs focussed more on death metal, and a few songs with more of a focus on grind playing with some Polish styled death metal riffs mixed in. The other tell-tale grind element that seems to be lacking are the huge tempo changes, as the songs tend to stick around the tempo they start with pretty often. That being said, the songs give a beatdown that generally sound alike to one another.

The biggest drawback is the short songs. Almost all of the songs on “The Contaminated Void” are in between 2 and 3 minutes. It is possible to give grind depth with short songs, although most bands would admit it’s a hard thing to do.

I must say “The Contaminated Void” by Coldworker is a slight disappointment considering the high standard Nasum set. While I wasn’t expecting Nasum part 2, I was expecting an album at the same high caliber of song writing that Nasum had. This is a first release, and Coldworker is probably trying to find their voice. Normally I don’t like to tell people that a certain band is a band to keep a close eye on, but with Coldworker I will admit I have an interest in what their next release will sound like.

3/5

Coldworker
Coldworker At MySpace
Coldworker At Relapse Records