Hard Cold Fire is the sixteenth studio album by Northern Irish rock band Therapy?, released on 5 May 2023 through Marshall Records.[7] This is the band's first record since 2018's CLEAVE. The album was originally recorded in 2021, but was postponed to 2023 because of the long overdue "Love Your Early Stuff" tour in 2022. Only ten cuts were kept for the record despite there being somewhere around 20 tracks recorded/for demos. Through interviews, vocalist/guitarist Andy Cairns stated that the band wanted to come back from the COVID-19 lock-down with force and catharsis, and the outtakes were deemed too "depressing" to be a worthy comeback.

Hard Cold Fire
Studio album by
Released5 May 2023 (2023-05-05)
StudioMarshall (London, England)
Genre
Length31:14
LabelMarshall
ProducerChris Sheldon
Therapy? chronology
Greatest Hits (The Abbey Road Session)
(2020)
Hard Cold Fire
(2023)
Singles from Hard Cold Fire
  1. "Joy"
    Released: 10 March 2023[4]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Kerrang!3/5[5]
Louder Than War4/5[6]

Background

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Produced by Chris Sheldon, who produced the band's previous studio album Cleave, Hard Cold Fire was released on 5 May 2023.[4] The album was recorded in November 2021 at Marshall Studios in London.

Pre-orders of the album became available on 10 March 2023 and included six different coloured LPs, a white label test pressing LP (limited to 16), a CD and a cassette. A promo video for "Joy" was also released digitally the same day.[8]

Track listing

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Hard Cold Fire track listing
No.TitleLength
1."They Shoot the Terrible Master"2:47
2."Woe"2:57
3."Joy"2:55
4."Bewildered Herd"3:21
5."Two Wounded Animals"3:28
6."To Disappear"3:10
7."Mongrel"3:37
8."Poundland of Hope and Glory"2:25
9."Ugly"3:02
10."Days Kollaps"3:32
Total length:31:14

Personnel

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Therapy?

Technical

Charts

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Chart performance for Hard Cold Fire
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[9] 14
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[10] 198
Irish Albums (OCC)[11] 48
Scottish Albums (OCC)[12] 4
UK Albums (OCC)[13] 29
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[14] 3
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[15] 1

References

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  1. ^ Cordova, Daniel (5 May 2023). "The Weekly Injection: New Releases From Dave Lombardo, Unearth & More Out Today 5/5". Metal Injection. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  2. ^ Hobson, Rich (20 December 2023). "The 10 best alt metal albums of 2023". Louder Sound. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  3. ^ "List of Releases: May 5, 2023". Sputnikmusic. 4 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  4. ^ a b Carter, Emily (10 March 2023). "Therapy? announce new album, Hard Cold Fire". Kerrang!. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  5. ^ Beebee, Steve (2 May 2023). "Album review: Therapy? – Hard Cold Fire". Kerrang!. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  6. ^ Carey, Wayne (1 May 2023). "Therapy?: Hard Cold Fire – review – Album of the Week!". Louder Than War. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  7. ^ Brannigan, Paul (11 March 2023). "Therapy? share new single Joy, announce Hard Cold Fire album, May in-store gigs". Louder. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  8. ^ Ozuna, Hernan (10 March 2023). "Therapy? announces new album Hard Cold Fire, drops "Joy" video". Chaoszine. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Ultratop.be – Therapy? – Hard Cold Fire" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Ultratop.be – Therapy? – Hard Cold Fire" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  11. ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  13. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  15. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2023.