Vena
Studio album by
Coldrain
ReleasedOctober 21, 2015 (2015-10-21)
RecordedJune 2015 - July 2015
StudioTrojan House and Madden Brothers Studio (Los Angeles, California, US)
Genre
Length38:27
Label
ProducerBrandon Paddock
Coldrain chronology
Until the End
(2014)		 Vena
(2015)		 Vena II
(2016)
Singles from Vena
  1. "Words of the Youth"
    Released: August 28, 2015
  2. "Gone"
    Released: September 16, 2015
  3. "Wrong"
    Released: January 6, 2016
  4. "The Story"
    Released: May 4, 2016
  5. "Fire in the Sky"
    Released: July 27, 2016

Vena (stylised in all caps) is the fourth studio album by Japanese rock band Coldrain. Recorded at the Trojan House and Madden Brothers Studio in Los Angeles, California with producer Brandon Paddock. It was released on October 21, 2015, in Japan by VAP and on October 23, 2015, worldwide by independent North American label Hopeless Records.[1][2]

Vena is the second Coldrain album to be released by Hopeless Records, the first being The Revelation, and the fourth album by the band to be released in Japan by VAP. This would be the follow-up to 2013's The Revelation, also to be the first album released worldwide in 2014. It would be their third highest-charting album on the Oricon Albums Chart, debuting and peaking at number 9, only behind Fateless which peaked at number 8 and The Revelation, which peaked at number 7.

The album spawned five singles, two of which that were released prior to the release of Vena. "Words of the Youth" in August and "Gone" the following month. The latter getting substantial air play on radio stations in the United Kingdom and the United States. The following three singles would all be released in 2016, with "Wrong" being released in January, "The Story" in May and the final single "Fire in the Sky", being released on July 27.

Like its predecessor The Revelation. Vena maintains alternative metal elements which were established in The Revelation, while continuing to further refine their sound and often swaying into a style that is known as metalcore in several songs such as "Wrong", "Words of the Youth", "Fire in the Sky" and "Runaway", that would end up featuring Jacoby Shaddix from the Grammy nominated rock band Papa Roach on the record that runs a little over 38 minutes long.[3]

Background

For a good while on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. Cryptic tweets would be up such as a random thing about "The calm before the storm", before being followed up with "big things are coming". This would lead to speculation of a new studio album, as well with the band later sharing a strange looking logo that would eventually end up being the tattoo on the album cover.[4]

"Words of the Youth" would later be released as a promotional and downloadable single on August 28, along with the news of the album title, tracklist, album release date and a world tour.[5] However, later teases would also hint at a new music video for the song "Gone".[6] This would end up being released on September 16 and would come out to critical acclaim and get major radio airplay on Octane, BBC Radio One and Kerrang.[7] The band would start promoting the album by playing the lead single "Gone" on tour with Bullet for My Valentine and While She Sleeps on a European Tour in September and October 2015.

Composition

The band's 2015 effort Vena has been critically described as post-hardcore,[8][9] metalcore,[10][11] hard rock,[12][11] alternative rock,[13] alternative metal,[14][15] and pop.[16]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Kerrang!6/10[17]
Already Heard[18]
Louder Sound[19]
Mosh6/10[20]
Pure Grain Audio7/10[21]
The Sound Board7/10[22]

The album received mixed-to-positive reviews from several critics.

Luke Nuttall of The Sound Board rated the album 7/10 and commented: "On this, their fourth album, the sound that Coldrain have gone for doesn't deviate much from what they've tried in the past. Vena is largely a collection of thoroughly modern hard rock, polished up but not entirely without grit and with the odd metalcore flourish appearing throughout. Largely though, the focus is on their sound's melodic aspect, a wise move considering that's what they're undeniably best at. It's hardly the most original concept – a sort of midpoint between Bullet for My Valentine and Thirty Seconds to Mars – but in terms of what they aim for, they hit all the right targets. The likes of "Divine" and "The Story" have enough stormy bluster in their choruses to show exactly why this band are such a huge deal in their home country, while "Runaway" gallops along with deft riffs before Papa Roach frontman Jacoby Shaddix arrives to steal the show with yet another barnstorming guest appearance to add to his ever growing list."[22]

Ali Cooper of Already Heard rated the album 3/5 and stated: "Beyond the eventless brevity of chaotic opening title track, vocalist Masato Hayakawa pours every ounce of anguish behind melodic cleans and suffering screams throughout ‘Wrong’, just the start of a cleverly produced record depicting the damage of a broken heart and a broken mind. Instrumental blueprints laid by their Hopeless Records neighbours The Used burst through the distortion-laden ‘Divine’, while the sassy and dominant ‘Pretty Little Liar’ stands tall despite drawing more than a passing resemblance to the aforementioned's ‘Pretty Handsome Awkward’."[18]

The aforementioned critics focused more on the aggressive riffs and harsh vocals of frontman Masato Hayakawa. However, Johnathan Markwell of Mosh went on to compliment the beautiful melancholic vocals: "This is most noticeable with lead singer Masato Hayakawa who is able to go from truly aggressive scream vocals to completely melodic chrooning, and he performs pretty much flawlessly. The second half of the album sees some less aggressive tracks and sees Hayakawa focus on his incredible melodic voice such as in ‘The Story’ and ‘Whole’."[20]

Commercial performance

Vena was the second album by the band to peak within the Top 10 on the Oricon Albums Chart, debuting at number 9, while spending a total of 6 weeks on the chart.[23] On the Billboard Top Album Sales chart, Vena debuted at number 10, dropping by 33 chart positions to number 43 the following week.[24] It would spend a total of three weeks within the Top 100.[25] As of January 2022, It is the fifth best selling album by the band in Japan.[26]

Outside of their home country of Japan, Vena charted in the United Kingdom on the UK Independent Album Breakers Chart for a solitary week at number 15, while also being the tenth biggest best seller in independent retailers that week in the whole country.[27] Despite this, it however failed to crack the UK Albums Chart.[28]

In the United States, Vena sold only 310 copies in its first week, failing to chart on Billboard charts in any capacity.[29]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Masato Hayakawa, all music composed by Masato Hayakawa, Ryo Yokochi and Brandon Paddock, except when noted.

Vena track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Vena" 0:58
2."Wrong" 3:32
3."Divine" 3:36
4."Gone" 4:12
5."Words of the Youth" 3:31
6."The Story" 4:09
7."Whole"
3:45
8."Runaway" (featuring Jacoby Shaddix)
3:46
9."Pretty Little Liar" 3:46
10."Heart of the Young" 3:48
11."Fire in the Sky" 3:24
Total length:38:27
Vena: Chapter 2 deluxe edition[30]
No.TitleLength
12."Born to Bleed"3:52
13."Undertow"3:29
14."Gone" (acoustic)4:34
15."The Story" (acoustic)4:11
Total length:54:33

Personnel

Credits adapted from album's liner notes.[31]

Charts

Chart performance for Vena
Chart (2015) Peak
positions
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[23] 9
Japanese Albums (Billboard)[32] 10
UK Independent Album Breakers (OCC)[27] 15
UK Official Record Stores (OCC)[28] 14

Release history

Region Date Format Label
Japan October 21, 2015 CD, digital download VAP
Worldwide October 23, 2015 Hopeless
North America November 21, 2016[33] Vinyl
Europe

References

  1. ↑ "coldrain OFFICIAL WEB SITE". coldrain.jp. Archived from the original on 2015-08-28. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
  2. ↑ "coldrain (Hopeless Records) share video for "Gone"". Alternative Press. 17 September 2015.
  3. ↑ "coldrain - Runaway (featuring Jacoby Shaddix)". YouTube. October 23, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Coldrain Official Twitter (Wayback Machine)". August 12, 2015. Archived from the original on August 18, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  5. ↑ "coldrain Announce New Album and World Tour". August 31, 2015.
  6. ↑ "#coldrain #GONE #WorldPremiere #Tomorrow #VENApic.twitter.com/XrQHJ9y13r". September 15, 2015.
  7. ↑ "coldrain Reveals New Music Video "GONE"". September 17, 2015.
  8. ↑ "COLDRAIN - POST-HARDCORE FROM NAGOYA". Darkest Reviews. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  9. ↑ "Vena - Coldrain (JAP)". Spirit of Metal. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  10. ↑ Leddington, Andy (15 October 2015). "COLDRAIN – 'VENA'". Punktastic. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  11. 1 2 Webb, Nick (31 January 2016). "Coldrain - Vena (Review)". Metal Temple. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  12. ↑ Reid, Sêan (23 May 2016). "Interview: Coldrain (Slam Dunk Fest Preview)". Already Heard. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  13. ↑ Morales, Cecilia (23 May 2016). "COLDRAIN PROVES AMBITION WITH LATEST SINGLE, VIDEO". Indie Band Guru. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  14. ↑ "Coldrain - Vena (2015)". Flowlez. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  15. ↑ "Coldrain - Vena". Banquet Records. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  16. ↑ Renault, Aurélie (11 January 2016). "COLDRAIN - VENA" (in French). RockUrLife. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  17. ↑ Ruskell, Nick. "Kerrang! November 7, 2015 UK". Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  18. 1 2 Cooper, Ali (19 October 2015). "Album Review - coldrain - VENA". Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  19. ↑ Hill, Stephen (13 October 2015). "Coldrain: Vena". Louder Sound. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  20. 1 2 Markwell, Jonathan (22 October 2015). "Coldrain - VENA Album Review". Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  21. ↑ Finney, Graham. "Coldrain "VENA" [ALBUM REVIEW]". Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  22. 1 2 Nuttall, Luke (26 October 2015). "ALBUM REVIEW: 'Vena' by Coldrain". Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  23. 1 2 "Coldrain – Vena" (in Japanese). Oricon. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  24. ↑ "Top Albums Sales". Billboard. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  25. ↑ "Top Albums Sales". Billboard. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  26. ↑ "Coldrain Rankings: Album Sales Ranking". Oricon. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  27. 1 2 "Official Independent Album Breakers Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  28. 1 2 "Official Record Store Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  29. ↑ Brown, Matt (5 November 2015). "Metal By Numbers 11/4: Sphere are the charts". Metal Insider. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  30. ↑ Marisol (27 September 2016). "VIDEO: Coldrain releases new video, Born To Bleed off latest album VENA II". Music Junkie Press. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  31. ↑ Vena (booklet). Hopeless. 2015.
  32. ↑ "Billboard Japan Top Albums Sales". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). 2 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  33. ↑ "We are excited to announce we will be releasing a special edition vinyl of our latest album VENA! The album includes all previous tracks from the original record and also includes digital downloads of two brand new songs and acoustic re-workings of 'Gone' and 'The Story', and will be released November 21st. Head here to pre-order your copy now and receive an instant download of the album plus the 4 bonus tracks! smarturl.it/coldrainmerchYou can get VENA II on iTunes here NOW: smarturl.it/VenaII Stream VENA II on Spotify now: smarturl.it/StreamVenaII". Facebook. August 24, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
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