“Out Of Time” By Gone Cold: A Song That Connects With Listeners
- Ann Schlottman
- Mar 23
- 6 min read
Written by: Annie Schlottman
So many bands run across my social media feeds lately, sometimes it’s hard to keep up. There is so much awesome music that resonates with me and gets added to my many playlists. One of the artists that caught my eye in 2025 was the Virginia four-piece metalcore band Gone Cold. I love their musical style, and I started following them as soon as I heard some of their songs.
After releasing a six track EP called A Sign of Life in September 2025, Gone Cold’s first offering of 2026 is a single, “Out Of Time”, which dropped March 20th. This wonderful new song includes a spectacular music video. When the band announced the new release, I reached out regarding writing about them, and they agreed to let me interview them. I hadn’t even heard the song yet, but I had no doubt it would be awesome, and I was right!
Gone Cold is based in Fredericksburg, Virginia, which is about halfway between Washington, D.C. and Richmond. Members of Gone Cold include: Steve Goula (vocals); Kevin Chicca (guitar and clean vocals); Brock Graves (guitar); and Josh Bailey (drums).
The band is comprised of musicians who were connected in previous projects. Steve and Josh knew each other from a band that ended during the pandemic. Brock and Kevin were in a similar situation, having met in a different band in the scene which also called it quits at that same time.
Kevin and Steve got in touch with each other, wanting to work on a new project. Steve brought in Josh for drums, and Kevin brought in Brock to share guitar duties.
By January of 2022, the four of them started to meet up and work on music for a new band. These are the four original members. They did have a bassist who joined, Sean Adams, but he left after a while. After he stepped away, they decided to remain a four-piece band. They all continue to be friends with Sean, though.
The band’s name, Gone Cold, came from a few places. One of those is that the band felt like it was a good reflection of their sound. Also, they liked that it could be left open to interpretation by their listeners. Lastly, the band really wanted to avoid the typical “Verb The Noun” metalcore band name. They wanted something that would stand out and be memorable.
The majority of Gone Cold’s songwriting is done by the band’s guitarist, Kevin. He typically brings a song to the whole band after he has finished fleshing out the majority of it. A lot of times Brock will come up with leads to add to what Kevin has written, and they usually complement each other well.
Vocals and lyrics are mostly a joint effort by Steve and Kevin. Kevin usually already has ideas for vocal melodies and lyrics for a lot of the choruses that he tracks into demos to send the band. After they get these demos Steve will typically sit down with them and record his own demos of his vocal parts to send to the band for feedback along with some lyrics as well.
This is how the songwriting process works for Gone Cold the majority of the time. It has been handled within the band and they haven’t had any external songwriters, aside from their producers giving them some alternative ideas in the studio that sometimes end up working out better than what they originally had. The band always welcomes the feedback from their producers.
That being said, the people that have been involved with Gone Cold’s production since the beginning are Grant McFarland and Carson Slovak of Atrium Audio. The band loves going to their studio and how professional and easy they both are to work with. They also seem to have an understanding of the general sound the band is going for with their music. Grant and Carson have worked with a lot of other bands in the scene, including August Burns Red and From Ashes To New.
For their music videos, Gone Cold has worked with a few different people, namely Travis Ilapit, Eric DiCarlo of SquareUp Studios, and, most recently, Alex Kouvatsos of Blackwolf Imaging. The band’s last two videos have been done with Alex, and they love working with him for the same reason they do with Atrium.
Another name the band wanted to mention is the person who has handled basically all of their design work when it comes to the artwork for their songs and EPs, and that is Kamil Wilde, who operates Heart Taped Designs. Kamil is excellent in his design work, extremely friendly, very professional, and pretty much always knocks it out of the park when the band brings a project to him.
When it comes to topics and themes of Gone Cold songs, the band does like to leave them open to the interpretation of their listeners. That being said, it’s important to add that all of the lyrics have a relation to the people in the band that write them. They are all connected to experiences they’ve had in their own lives that have shaped them as human beings. Some are things they continue to go through and try to express through their music.
The band aims to find common ground and relatability with their listeners, because we’re all humans who share similar experiences. Sometimes knowing that there is someone else out there who has been where you have, or are currently, can be a powerful thing.
The newest Gone Cold song, “Out Of Time”, had an immediate impact on me as soon as I heard it. It has everything a great metalcore track should – a stellar combination of hard and clean vocals, complex guitar riffs, thunderous drums, and some cool electronic elements mixed in to keep the listeners on their toes.
Having been through a very rough last six months and trying to find my way out of a dark place, I personally identify with the chorus lyrics sung so beautifully by Kevin. They are very emotional and move me to the core whenever I listen to the song.
“The more I reach for the light The more it slips away It seems I’m in for the fight of my life I’m hoping for something The more I look to the sky The more it fades to gray It seems I’m in for the fight of my life I’m hoping for something”
Near the end of the song, Steve's hard vocals share an important message of strength, but also the realization that we can't overcome challenges we face alone. We all need someone who will be there to help us find the light.
“I will plant my feet firm In this test of resolve I'll be the stone to weather the storm With your hand in mine I have strength to endure Please just be there when I walk through the door”
For Gone Cold’s music video for the new song “Out Of Time”, as mentioned above, the band returned to work with their friend Alex Kouvatsos of Blackwolf Imaging. They also had Dom Delfino of Delfino Visuals helping out on the set and shooting some behind the scenes content. Dom also took the most recent promo picture of the band that they’ve posted.
Usually, the band comes into their music videos with a loose idea of what they’d like to do, and they bring those to the director to see if it’s something they can execute. Alex has been really good at listening to their ideas and helping the band shape them into something that represents them well and looks great on camera.
It is ironic and somewhat amusing that a band called Gone Cold has incorporated a lot of fire themes, but for the new video they finally went with a cold theme. This song lyrically is very personal and deals with some recent life events, so the band hopes that it can connect with people. They put a lot of work into it and really hope people enjoy it.
Regarding the future for Gone Cold, the band plans to just keep pushing out the music they enjoy making, and it means the world to them if people like it. They have upcoming shows this spring in the Maryland and Virginia areas. Fans can follow the band on social media for more information.
Gone Cold has a show Friday, May 15th with Confessions Of A Traitor, Fight From Within, and ExitWounds at Morsbergers Tavern in Catonsville, Maryland, just west of Baltimore. Click HERE for more information about the event, which is being hosted by Rock Steady -- Coordinators of Chaos. I myself have attended a show at Morsbergers, and I can personally confirm that it's a really fun and intimate place to see a show!
The band shared some final thoughts to close out our interview. “We are very much four regular guys with jobs and all the hardships a typical person has in 2026. We aren’t rich. We do this because we love this genre and music as a whole. Any amount of success we could ever come across is because of our fans and people that have supported us. To the people who keep us in their rotation, share our videos, come to the shows, and kept up with us from the beginning -- we could never thank you enough.”
Comments