COLD have signed a new deal with Atlantic Records following their split with the Geffen label back in March. At the time, the group's frontman Scooter Ward blamed the split on "a disagreement on how to promote our band. They wouldn't do what we wanted, so we asked if they would let us go," he said.

COLD have completed eight songs for the follow-up to 2003's "Year of the Spider" and plan on entering Long View Farm Studios in North Brookfield, MA with producer/former UGLY KID JOE guitarist Dave Fortman (SUPERJOINT RITUAL, EVANESCENCE) "a couple of weeks after [Dave] finishes [producing the new] MUDVAYNE" album, according to Ward. "We will probably start touring again in December (headline only)," Scooter said.

Back in April, COLD parted ways with guitarist Kelly Hayes and replaced him with Matt Laughran, formerly of the pre-COLD outfit GRUNDIG. Hayes, who is believed to have joined the Jacksonville, Florida-based "modern rock" band ALLELE, was the second guitarist to leave COLD in less than six months. Late last year, Terry Balsamo exited the group to hook up with EVANESCENCE. He has since been replaced by former DARWIN'S WAITING ROOM axeman Eddie Rendini.