I have been waiting for this challenge. As with Deanna my favorite changes with my mood...
but if I had to number them it would go as follows:

..1 Favorite is def "Falling Away" I am sorry I f'in love Mitch's voice!
..2 Breathing Slowly (Acoustic Version) gives me the Chills
..3 is for sure the sexist song "Never Coming Home" especially Eddies little "ahhhoohoohoohoooohhh" at the end *shivers*
..4 is "Drown You Out" cuz it f'in RAWKS!
..5 "Washing the World Away" see above ^
..6 "Already Gone" The "hook" is off the hook...
..7 "Anchor" has one of my fav lines "losing more than I have to give"
"8 "Invincible" which would be my Jordan's ..1
..9,10...the other two....which I of course enjoy as well...

The bottom line is that of course this CD is different from the first! Why would anyone even want it the same wouldn't that be redundant? This is definitely my favorite CD right now and it isn't just because I am sooo partial to the boys, it is truly a rockin' album! Well that is just my opinion...:)

It's like a breath of fresh Crossfade air that we've all been waiting for for years. When the album came out, I knew I had to have it because Crossfade is my favorite band of all-time and they still are to this day. I bought the first CD in September of 2003 and fell in love. From then on I knew there was something different about this band. Crossfade has done it again, another amazing CD. I have so many favorite songs. Some are: Everything's Wrong, Drown You Out, Falling Away and Anchor. I've loved Anchor (previously known as Drunk) since I heard it at the concert in July 2005. I was so happy when they said they were putting it on the new CD. It is redone but its still just as amazing as the older version. So, anyone looking to pick up a new rock CD? Go for Falling Away. Definitely.

Crossfade's CD simply titled "Crossfade" is a must for any music fan as it combines a hip hop style on some tracks with a heavy rock sound on others. All the tracks have a very unique style to include the vocals, guitars, bass and drums. You will want to jump around and then just kickback and relax all in the same CD. I found it to be a great musical rollercoaster ride, one you will want to ride over and over. Without a doubt this is a CD once you purchase it you are going to listen to it over and over again.
To sample music or get more band information plese go to Crossfade.com.

2. Cold - A number one song of 2004, still a huge crowd favorite in 2005. An incredibly addictive song you'll listen to over and over.

7. No Giving Up - Jump to the heavy guitar, sway to the melodic vocals, and bang your head to the drums…WOW!!

9. Disco - A crowd favorite this energetic song is above cord. A mix of hip hop and rock at it's best.

Crossfade is from Columbia, SC and tour nationally. Crossfade's self-titled CD is on Columbia Records and is available at all the usual outlets. Online users can purchase the CD at Amazon.com. For additional sampling of music visit the Crossfade page at Myspace.com. Read our review of Crossfade in concert.

• This time last year, Crossfade was best known as a rock band from South Carolina. Now, one year, five hundred thousand album
sales, two smash hit songs, 250 live shows, and ten national TV appearances later they've become the artist development story of the year and #52 on Billboard Top 200 Bestselling Albums chart, with a bullet!

Their success can be traced back to last spring, when the quartet hit the
road in support of their self-titled debut. They played anywhere and everywhere, regularly whipping audiences into a frenzy with a set that was raw, sweaty and absolutely electrifying. Word of their unique sound: a hard edged rock band amplified by the addition of a DJ/turntablist began to spread and radio took notice. Little by little, lead single "Cold" began to generate heat and slowly started tearing through stateside playlists.

Within a few months, the band was everywhere: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,
Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Fuse and VH1 (where they are now in large rotation). They shared stages with bands such as Shinedown and Helmet and quickly established themselves as one of rock's exciting new voices. By year's end, "Cold," which had charted for more than 40 weeks, had become 2004's #1 most played song at Active Rock radio and Crossfade was well on its way to Gold status. Not bad for an album that the band recorded in a tiny garage studio in Columbia, South Carolina.

"We really followed our creative vision," says lead vocalist/guitarist Ed Sloan about the making of the record. "The ability to record at home and on our own time was great. It gave us complete control over our environment and allowed us to experiment in ways that, in a normal studio, would not have been possible due to budget and time constraints. It took about nine or ten months to complete this recording." Impressed with the album's sound, Columbia /FG practically released the disc "as is," with only minor post-production assistance from award-winning producer and engineer Randy Staub (Metallica, P.O.D., 3 Doors Down).

Crossfade is maintaining momentum with their second single "So Far Away"
(already a top five radio fixture) and the announcement of their first-ever headlining tour to follow the current Sno-Core tour. The trek begins March 23 at the State Theater in Albany, GA with openers Strata. On March 29, Columbia / FG Records will re-release the self-titled album as a Dual Disc, loaded with bonus features. Side A will feature the full-length CD audio album while Side B of the disc offers the DVD content including interview segments, live footage, acoustic performances and the "Cold" video, all delivered in a
speaker-shattering surround sound mix.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Benny Tarantini • Columbia Records (212) 833-5858 •
Benny_Tarantini@sonymusic.com
www.crossfadeonline.com

NEW YORK, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- 2005 is already shaping up as a very good year for Crossfade, the South Carolina-based rock band whose breakthrough single, "Cold," was 2004's Most Played Song at Active Rock radio, surpassing every competing act at the format, according to Billboard Monitor. In the week ending January 2, 2005, Crossfade's self-titled debut album has jumped an astounding 58 spots on the Billboard Top 200 Bestselling Albums chart, bulleting from #125 to #67. With weekly sales more than doubling since late November, Crossfade has sold more than 100,000 copies in the past four weeks and is rapidly approaching the RIAA Gold mark.

While Crossfade held fast at #1 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart for 11 out of 12 weeks from October 10 through December 26, 2004, the Crossfade-penned "Cold" spent a full seven months in Active Rock's Top 10. New York's influential KROQ has added "Cold" to the station's power rotation while the video clip for "Cold," featuring GUESS? model/"Entourage" actress Beau Garrett, is currently in rotation on FUSE and VH1. The "Cold" clip was lensed by Martin Weisz, whose music video credits include Live, Fuel, and Nickelback.

Crossfade recently performed "Cold," on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and the group's performance on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" re-aired on January 6.

Crossfade will continue to connect with the group's fans on the road as the band has just been tapped to join the WINTERFRESH(R) SNOCORE TOUR presented by MTV2 with Chevelle, Helmet, Future Leaders of the World and Strata. The 2-month winter lifestyle tour launches January 22 in Vail, Colorado. See upcoming dates below.

Featuring the dual vocals of frontman and guitarist Ed Sloan and DJ/Vocalist Tony Byroads, Mitch James on bass (and backing vocals) and James Branham on drums, the hard rock quartet detonated on impact with Crossfade, an explosive album of sprawling melodic rock which was released in the spring of 2004. Created in the spirit of independence, with post-production assistance from award-winning producer and engineer Randy Staub (Metallica, P.O.D., 3 Doors Down), the debut is a reflection of the environment the band members created for themselves.

"So Far Away," the second single from Crossfade, has reached the #2 slot on the Active Rock Top 10, according to R&R.

There's only one movie that ever put me to sleep...Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. And now there's one Rock CD...Crossfade.
I had high hopes after hearing their hit "Cold". In fact, I almost assumed that the whole CD would be top-notch... ahhh, no. The first two tracks are great, especially "Starless". But then the transmission falls out. It's like they either gave up, tried too hard, or ran out of material. The real low point came at track 5, a song called "Death Trend Setta". You're kidding me right? "Setta" as in setter, except they're trying to be street. It sounds like a friendly Limp Bizkit. Yes, RapRock. I give Crossfade a 2 because it starts out strong and it helps me nap.

With a sound incorporating bands as diverse as Metallica, Incubus, P.O.D. and even Nickelback, South Carolina’s Crossfade are an intriguing outfit. Blending, powerful, crunching nu-metal riffs with surprisingly melodic interludes, the band may not possess an original sound, but it’s easy to see the crossover potential of the band’s debut self-titled album.

First single, 'Cold', is formulaic enough to warrant an assault on the charts, with vocalist Ed Sloan sounding uncannily like Nickeback’s Chad Kroger. Opener 'Starless' is better and perhaps more representative of Crossfade’s sound, showcased impressively on the intense, anthemic 'So Far Away'. The P.O.D. influence comes across most prominently on 'No Giving Up', while 'Dead Skin' is a more laid back, restrained track, which emphasises Crossfade’s dark, brooding lyrical themes.

Standout track, though, has to be 'The Unknown', an epic, carefully-crafted offering which again shows another side to the band’s sound.

As a result of the differing styles on 'Crossfade', it could be argued that the band is still to find its own true voice, yet the diversity of the album means that there is something here for all modern rock enthusiasts, even if they may have heard it all before. (AE)

Title - 'Crossfade' (Columbia)
Artist - Crossfade
A couple of months back I was told by a friend about a new band called Crossfade, he said to listen to "Cold". I was hooked. I wanted more. Finally the CD is out and it ROCKS! Songs like "Cold," "So Far Away" and "The Deep End" have caught my attention so much I have not put it down. This is a must have CD. The only problem is that like other magazine reviewers have stated this CD will probably go "un-noticed on the rock radar" but lets hope not! We have to support up and coming bands!

From a garage-based home studio in Columbia, South Carolina to the roster of Columbia/FG Records, Crossfade's story is one of timeless American ingenuity. And right now, a new chapter has begun. Having just recently toppled Velvet Revolver to grab the #1 spot on the R&R Active Rock chart with "Cold," the first explosive single from their self-titled debut album, the band was invited to perform the standout song on NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien on Tuesday, September 14.

Featuring the dual vocals of frontman Ed Sloan and DJ/Sampler/Vocalist Tony Byroads, Mitch James on bass (and backing vocals) and James Branham on drums, the hard rock quartet detonated on impact with "CROSSFADE," an explosive album of sprawling melodic rock which has just topped 100,000 in sales. A product of independence, the spirit that led Crossfade to build and equip their own studio, to record and produce their own songs, to engage the indie A & R company Taxi which led them to Columbia Records, the debut is a reflection of the environment the band created for themselves. With post-production assistance from award-winning producer and engineer Randy Staub (Metallica, P.O.D., 3 Doors Down), Crossfade released their first rock 'n roll dream come true. From the rapid-fire chords of the album's opener "Starless," through the hypnotic swirl of its acoustic closer, "The Unknown," it introduces the four uncompromising musicians of CROSSFADE with an auspicious debut, and a warm welcome for "Cold."

"Cold" gives an overall feeling of foreboding, a feat accomplished through the band's standout vocals. The lead singer soars over the top of a bottom-heavy instrumental, and the harmony is impressive and unique." ~ Radio & Records

The band continues to tour into the Fall, now with Shinedown later with Alterbridge.

The group found its beginnings back in the late 90’s when Ed Sloan (Lead vocals/guitar) joined up with Mitch James (Bass/Vocals) and Brian Geiger (drum) to form a heavy metal band known as The Nothing. The later addition of DJ Tony Byroads (Vocals/Turntable/Samples) caused the band to mature into what they called Sugardaddy Superstar. After signing with Columbia in 2003, the band changed their name once more, this time emerging as Crossfade. April 2004 marked the release of their self-titled debut album, a musical gem well worth the wait.

A solid wall of sound opens the first track “Starless”. As the guitar breaks, the rest of the band takes the opportunity to jump in. The guitar changes to a picking pattern as the soft thumping bass and crisp vocals slide into place. The beginning of the chorus finds a quick tempo change, complete with an interesting distorted cycling effect. The pace changes again as the chorus progresses, moving to a more melodic sound. A rap-style interlude is injected into the tail end of the song. While it initially seems a little awkward, by a second listen it seems to fit in perfectly. A well written song lyrically, and an aurally pleasing piece musically “Starless” definitely secured a spot on my favorites list.

The second track “Cold” carries on in the same tradition as “Starless” - tight musical arrangement and strong, layered vocals. Deep, rich bass and controlled drumming create a solid backbone for the piece. The vocals have a sharper, grittier edge, dripping with emotion. A soaring guitar solo in the middle of the piece adds a nice touch. This is the first single of the new album and it has already been receiving radio play in several markets.

The fourth track, “Colors” begins with a hollow and dreary sounding guitar rift that floats out of your stereo and instantly grabs your attention. Soft, smooth vocals slither over the rolling notes, giving the intro a very melancholy feel. Then, as seems characteristic in this album, the energy shoots through the roof with high intensity chorus. The energy continues to ebb and flow throughout the piece but still leaves you satisfied at the end.

“Death Trend Setta” features a strong chugga chugga style rhythm with the guitars, bass and drums all contributing to the thumping beat. The chorus is peppered with an intriguing sample that, for lack of a better description, sounds like a power tool touching metal. The vocals have a more rap-like and angrier feel than previous tunes, but the style and sound matches perfectly with the musical bed behind it.

A straight up rock rap tune “No Giving Up” has an intoxicating beat, catchy lyrics and heavy guitar and drum parts, making it nearly impossible to sit still in your seat. The chorus brings back the familiar layered vocals, delivered in more of a rock style.

I could go on to detail each song (it’s that good!) but I don’t want to expose all of the interesting aspects of this album. Very rarely do I come across a disc so solid that I have no compulsion to hit the fast forward button. Crossfade has produced an album that has so much variety it is tough to place it in a category with any certainty. What do they sound like? There is a hint of everything from Echo7 (“So Far Away”) to Disturbed (“Disco”). They have taken the basic rock mold and added enough of their own nuance to make it attractive and addicting without being able to directly compare them to anyone.

Overall, the album is full of rich melodic music, beautifully interwoven vocals and well written lyrics. A rich pool of talent, I would definitely be so bold as to say that Crossfade would be one of the bands to watch this year.

Whether it was destiny or simply a heartfelt drive to do what you love, Crossfade made it happen on their own terms as this West Columbia, SC outfit is eyeing big things to come with their self-titled debut on Columbia Records.

I first heard Crossfade as their emotive single “Cold” captured my attention over the radio airwaves. But it wasn’t until the disc made its way across my desk and into my CD player that I found myself immediately gripped with what I would consider to be one of this year’s best album releases. In a nutshell, Crossfade is a sonically polished collection of modern rock greatness with an ultra melodic emergence, both musically and vocally, that is to be applauded. The thing that makes this most impressive is that the guys in Crossfade did this pretty much all themselves as they self-produced their debut album in their home studio, called SugarStar Studios, located in the basement of their home. I mean this is really an unparalleled sounding final product that virtually had no major label involvement during the making.

I’ll tell you right now, every freaking track on this album is superb; from the feverish opening run of “Starless” to the more mellow hallow of album closer “The Unknown,” Crossfade is rich with texture, structure, and passion. What I simply mean by that is that there’s substance that much of what today’s hard rock scene is terribly lacking. And yes, they can still rock out hard on tracks like “Disco” and “Death Trend Setta.”

This is pretty much the same feeling I had about last year’s Cold release Year of the Spider, it’s a modern rock tour de force in my book. If were to group Crossfade with acts that I would consider to be in the same class, it would be with the likes of Cold, Lo-Pro, and Ra. All those bands offer up so much more to modern rock today than many others.

In a time when so many rock music fans are extremely hesitant in dishing out cash for an album that nowadays consist of only one or two decent tracks, Crossfade will make every cent you spend worth your while. From start to finish, Crossfade is a solid listen.

Crossfade rocks pure and simple. Ed Sloan has a voice made to sing hard rock. Tony Byroads has learned, or always knew, how much to sample without over doing it. Mitch James does not let the bass get lost, which is a very good thing giving the music a full sound not unlike P.O.D. Last but not least, Brian Geiger has these great percussion mixes that keep the flow smooth not choppy. Add this all up and you have an exceptional Hard Rock band. The only drawback for me was although there where places of hope in the music it was easy for it to get lost in the dark. I am not knocking it, the pervasive feeling is frustration, dark does not always equal deep but on this CD it does.

Most are raving about "Cold" But I found my favorite to be "Starless" that song has one of the most inventive music blends I have ever heard. Change to change while the lyrics sing about a cycle, or at least that is what I heard. Perfect oxymorons and the stuff of great songs. Skip all the way to "The Unknown" and you get a better view into the world of Crossfade. We as humans ask, seek, question, stay, run, so does Crossfade in "The Unknown" Tracks 2-9 are not fillers they are solid, "Colors" and "No Giving Up" jump out also and anyone of the 4 songs mentioned above could be single radio releases.

Hard Rock Fans will enjoy Crossfade. If you like your music a tad mellower then give it a chance because the grooves are there. You stand a good chance of enjoying yourself, just don't make the mistake of thinking this CD will not get you thinking. It will definitely make you think, but not in the obvious way past artists in this genre have.

Survivor finds life in zine
By Jessica Del Curto
Published: Thursday, December 2, 2004
Article Tools: Page 1 of 2

Allie Shaw, owner of Hyperactive Music Magazine, stands with members of Crossfade, from left, Tony Byroads, Mitch James and Ed Sloan.

Lying in a hospital room gave Allie Shaw plenty of time to think.

While alone in the dark, waiting for her next procedure, she was inspired to change her life.

Shaw, a restaurant manager, decided to start a music magazine that would cover local and national bands.

Now the 30-year-old is the owner and publisher of Hyperactive Music Magazine. She has a small staff of dedicated workers who helped get the first issue off the ground.

"We figure we'd have a national artist on the cover, and then inside, readers can learn about local bands," she said.

The magazine not only keeps her incredibly busy, but it revived her soul and gave her a reason to live, she said.

In January, Shaw was in Colorado Springs helping the managers of Il Vicino upgrade their restaurant. She was downstairs in the office when a former employee snuck through the back door with the intentions of robbing the store.

He said "Give me the money," she said. "I thought it was a practical joke. Then he pulled a gun out of his backpack. I took a step forward. He took two steps forward and had the gun pointed at my head the entire time."

"He shrugged and took the gun from my head down to my stomach and shot me," she said.

As the room began to spin, Shaw realized she had been hit. In the hospital, she stopped breathing for about 20 minutes. When she finally came to, she found out she may never be able to run again or have kids.

In April, after countless operations, Shaw realized she needed something to keep her mind off what had happened to her.

Before Shaw got caught up in the security of a nine-to-five restaurant job, she was a music journalist. The first big act she interviewed was Boyz II Men. She worked for the Daily Lobo, was a stringer for MTV's Web site and started several local music magazines.

"Eventually, I couldn't fly off and interview rock stars," she said. "It just became too much after awhile, and I fell into a work humdrum."

After the shooting, Shaw took her vast store of music trivia and put it to good use. Continued..

Crossfade's metallic overtones (especially the guitars, which travel from Soundgarden to Ill Nino), meshed with its penchant for balladeering a la Three Doors Down make for quite the bland offering. There's not much on the quartet's eponymous debut release that Sevendust hasn't covered, and the DJ meets rock band aura that pervades tracks like "No Giving Up" and "Disco" just gives off the perception of Crossfade being a poor man's Linkin Park. Even though Crossfade's debut is consistently competent, the big arena sound that it bellows talks loud and says virtually nothing. www.columbiarecords.com
3 rock horns
- reviewed by Mike @ PitRockMag.com

Hard rock/heavy metal band Crossfade is based in Columbia, SC, where its members reside. The group came together in the late 1990s with the merging of singer/guitarist Ed Sloan with bassist/backup singer Mitch James and drummer Brian Geiger as the power trio the Nothing. Sloan, a Columbia native, had begun taking piano lessons at eight and been attracted to grunge and heavy metal music, joining his first band, Darkchilde, in the eighth grade. By the time he began attending the University of South Carolina and majoring in computer science, however, he was looking for new musicians to play with. Geiger, also a native of Columbia, had played drums since his childhood and was a member of another local band, Celestian Slant. For James, who took up the bass after becoming enamored of the instrument at a David Lee Roth concert, the Nothing was his first band. The group added singer and club DJ Tony Byroads, who had grown up in Buffalo, NY, playing in a band called Final Wave in high school, then moved to Columbia after graduation. The resulting quartet renamed itself Sugardaddy Superstar. While building up a local following, the band recorded in its own Sugarstar Studio. It first gained recognition beyond its region when it attracted the interest of the Los Angeles A&R company Taxi, and Los Angeles promoter Chris Long (who took over as manager), leading to an L.A. showcase in March 2002. That, in turn, led to a signing to the Earshot subsidiary of Columbia Records. The band then retooled its self-released album, Cold, under the auspices of mixer/engineer Randy Staub and renamed itself Crossfade. The revised album was released by Columbia as Crossfade in April 2004.