Matt Heafy was so impressed with Cold Steel when they opened for Trivium he became their “big brother”. Meet the Florida metal maniacs who want to make the next Ride The Lightning…
Even the name Cold Steel screams ‘old school’. If you’ve got a thrash metal-shaped hole in your life, then this gleamingly galvanised wrecking machine from the hotbed of loudness that is Tampa, Florida might just have your head nodding the way it did when Machine Head entered your world.
Featuring three guitarists, the sextet’s recent debut album Discipline & Punish cranks out enormous riffs, plunging time changes and neck-bulging vocals from frontman Jose Menendez.
It’s all happened mighty fast too. Having topped a fan poll, Cold Steel found themselves opening for fellow Floridian metallers Trivium at what was just their fourth-ever gig – no pressure, then.
“My IBS took off ’cause I was so nervous,” gasps six-stringer Rafi Carbonell. “In most senses we weren’t ready, but our souls were. Once we were in front of all those people, it all kicked in and we nailed it. It turned out the Trivium guys loved us and one thing led to another.”
Utterly smitten, Matt Heafy even took Cold Steel under his wing, and pretty much taught them everything he knew about how to become a deadly metallic force.
“He changed the game,” nods Rafi. “He showed us how to get the best from our writing and even gave us some riffs. We stepped it up massively, while still retaining our sound. I think of Matt, and I know that we owe him everything. He’s become like our big brother.”
The result of this coaching is a debut that gleefully recalls classic bands while throwing enough curveballs into the mix to keep it original and exciting.
“We want it to be a rollercoaster,” asserts Rafi. “Metallica’s Ride The Lightning, man – where there’s a slow, heavy song, a fast song and then an emotional song. That really inspires us. We like to do things that are heavy but chorus-based like Return To Agony, and then go straight into some thrash, or a more hip-hop-inspired tune like Smoking Mirrors. It’s supposed to make you feel a lot of different things: sad, brave, angry.”
There’s hooks here amid the heaviness, plus those killer time changes – and throughout it all, Jose pours out venom and bile.
“I don’t know how he does it,” Rafi marvels. “He has the diaphragm and throat of a madman. He was in theatre for years, he’s a proper Thespian, and that’s where his singing comes from. He’s able to hold those screams for so long.”
Like all new bands, plus the greatest when they were starting out, the challenge for a fast-rising outfit like Cold Steel is to balance their ascent with the demands of real life. Rafi actually works in a hospital – and he’s currently speaking to K! in his scrubs.
“We’re stepping into the unknown right now, but that’s what’s so exciting,” he says. “It’s time for us to get out there and see new places, and that in turn will inspire our writing. It’s all so new that we don’t know exactly where we’re going next – all we know is that it’s gonna be incredible!”
Discipline & Punish is out now via Spinefarm. This interview originally appeared in the winter 2025 issue of the magazine.
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