Background and Style
Prior to writing the album, Cold was in the process of seeking a new record label. Upon the group's return to Jacksonville, Ward briefly checked himself into rehab.
By September 2004, the band had added former member Matt Loughran and was signed by Atlantic Records (Lava Records division), where they set about recording a new album. It was to be produced by Elvis Baskette and slated to be released in December 2004. However, Cold suffered another blow with Eddie Rendini leaving the band. The new album was then scheduled for a spring 2005 release before Cold decided to head back to the studio and record several more tracks. In June 2005, the band's official website noted a third and final change to the album's title. Two previous working titles were And a Sad Song Lives On and The Calm That Killed the Storm; however, it was again changed to broaden the interpretation of the album's songs.
The name and much of the album's lyrics were inspired by Ward's sister Jen's battle with cancer. In fact, the band wrote much of the material in Ward's parents' house, particularly in Jen's room. Ward described the making of the album as "a healing process," and fortunately, as the band was finishing up, his sister had gone into remission. Given the record’s primary source of inspiration, A Different Kind of Pain maintains the visceral, anxious tones characteristic of Cold’s sound yet strays from the band’s typical aggression. Instead, it focuses almost entirely on perseverance through love and personal struggle which, while still conjuring a somber atmosphere, provides a distinctly more uplifting and spiritual presence that the group notably began exploring on Year of the Spider. This is evident "God's Song," one of various tracks laced with religious themes. Other subjects include the end of Ward's relationship to his fiance and mother of his daughter and the physical abuse of a 14-year-old girl by her father. In a first for Cold, the album also includes a trudging piano ballad in the form of its title track.
Read more about this topic: A Different Kind Of Pain
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