A combination dreams are made of: Japanese band coldrain collaborated with Bert McCracken from The Used for their newest single “POISON”. The track marks the 7th track from the band’s upcoming eighth full-length album “OPTIMIZE = OPTDEMISE”, set for release on September 25th, 2026, via Century Media Records. Coldrain and The Used share touring history, having toured in Australia back in 2023 with coldrain as the special guest. And “POISON” thrives on that exact combination of alternative rock, sing-along passages, and a strong edge, making it perfect for fans of both coldrain and The Used.
“POISON” will be the last track ahead of the release of coldrain’s newest record, happening September 25th. The album will include the band’s prior single releases “INCOMPLETE”, “CHASING SHADOWS”, and “FREE FALL”, and “EX-HUMANITY”.
PRE-SAVE/BUY THE NEW ALBUM HERE
LISTEN TO “POISON” HERE
Singer Masato shares about the track: “Poison is a song about love and desire—about how something, or someone, you love can become so addictive that it’s easy to lose yourself in it. Trying to find the right dosage of that love—enough to satisfy you without letting it consume you—feels like one of the most human struggles there is.
The song also features killer vocals from the one and only Bert McCracken of The Used, one of our all-time favorite singers. His signature voice brings a rawness and emotional intensity to the track that makes Poison feel like a timeless emo masterpiece.”
OPTIMIZE = OPTDEMISE
coldrain
Track Listing:
1. OPTIMIZE
2. CHASING SHADOWS
3. DIGITOLL
4. INCOMPLETE
5. FREE FALL
6. EX-HUMANITY
7. REST OF ME
8. POISON (feat. Bert McCracken of The Used)
9. G.I.A.I.G
10. SING
11. PICTURE PERFECT HELL
12. SAVIOR (feat. Kenta Koie of Crossfaith, AFTERVOID)
coldrain announced their “OPTIMIZE = OPTDEMISE JAPAN TOUR”, which will be happening from October to December 2026. Additionally, the band has been confirmed as one of the support acts for Electric Callboy’s “TANZNEID WORLD TOUR” tour in Australia for September 2026, alongside Ice Nine Kills.
All dates and further info here: https://coldrain.jp/blogs/live
– “TANZNEID WORLD TOUR” w/ Electric Callboy & Ice Nine Killls –
04.09.2026 – Australia, Perth: RAC Arena
06.09.2026 – Australia, Adelaide: Adelaide Entertainment Centre Arena
08.09.2026 – Australia, Melbourne: Rod Laver Arena
10.09.2026 – Australia, Sydney: Qudos Bank Arena
12.09.2026 – Australia, Brisbane: Riverstage
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– OPTIMIZE = OPTDEMISE JAPAN TOUR 2026 –
06.10.2026 – Japan, Kawasaki: CLUB CITTA’
10.10.2026 – Japan, Hiroshima: BLUE LIVE HIROSHIMA
17.10.2026 – Japan, Fukuoka: UNITED LAB
21.10.2026 – Japan, Sapporo: PENNY LANE24
22.10.2026 – Japan, Sapporo: PENNY LANE24
01.11.2026 – Japan, Kanazawa: EIGHT HALL
03.11.2026 – Japan, Niigata: NIIGATA LOTS
29.11.2026 – Japan, Sendai: SENDAI GIGS
01.12.2026 – Japan, Osaka: NAMBA HATCH
02.12.2026 – Japan, Nagoya: COMTEC PORTBASE
09.12.2026 – Japan, Tokyo: TOYOSU PIT
ABOUT COLDRAIN:
The title OPTIMIZE = OPTDEMISE is itself a warning: a caution against a world in which the rise of AI has come to symbolize humanity’s growing confusion over what it means to be human. More than a framework of “against AI” or “against technology,” this album calls for the liberation of the soul in response to a world that is steadily being bleached of color, and to the brutality of people who, having stopped thinking for themselves, continue to hurt one another. That is the reason coldrain continues to fight. And OPTIMIZE = OPTDEMISE is the album where that essence appears more youthful, pure, and unfiltered than ever before – a human fuse burning toward ignition.
Coldrain, the quintet that is about to release their 8th album, first emerged in Japan in 2007, proudly identifying themselves as a “loud rock” band. Their songwriting, heavily influenced by the nu-metal and emo/screamo movements of the 2000s, resonated directly with the youth culture of America at the time. Yet in the Japanese rock scene of that era, “loud music” was still largely associated with melodic punk and pop-punk. As a result of that advance, coldrain absorbed musical elements far beyond nu-metal and screamo alone. While maintaining melodies that carried a distinctly Japanese sense of emotion, they transformed into a chimera capable of crossing through every subgenre of rock. Their ability to be both heavy and endlessly pop became their greatest weapon.
Now, especially since joining forces with Century Media Records, the very fact that their music cannot be defined by a single attribute – and the very “in-between” quality of their style – has become a musical identity unconstrained by borders or genres, radiating an originality that stands among the strongest in the world.
coldrain are a band whose lives were changed by music that could never have been born in Japan, and yet they themselves are a hybrid that could only have emerged from the Galápagos-like environment of Japan. That is coldrain. Rather than needing to acquire a new place, coldrain were able to turn simply “being themselves” into music in its most unfiltered form. As a result, OPTIMIZE = OPTDEMISE is pierced throughout by a youthful rawness that feels almost impossible for a band nearing twenty years since its formation.
coldrain are:
Masato – Vocals
Y.K.C – Guitar
Sugi – Guitar
RxYxO – Bass Guitar
Katsuma – Drums
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