Japanese alt-metal quintet COLDRAIN has announced its eighth studio album, "Optimize = Optdemise," set for release September 25 via Century Media Records, alongside the release of new single "Ex-Humanity."
The Nagoya-formed band, led by vocalist Masato alongside guitarists Y.K.C and Sugi, bassist RxYxO and drummer Katsuma, built the new record around a deliberate tension between its music and lyrics. Describing "Ex-Humanity," Masato said the track is "energetic, powerful and alive" musically, while its lyrics run in the opposite direction, staying "intentionally simple, static and full of despair" — a contrast meant to mirror the song's themes around humanity's uneasy relationship with technological transformation.
"Optimize = Optdemise" follows COLDRAIN's October 2025 EP "Optimize," which previewed several tracks that carry over onto the new full-length, including "Incomplete," "Chasing Shadows" and "Free Fall." "Ex-Humanity" marks the sixth song from the album cycle shared ahead of the record's full release, giving fans an unusually extensive preview of the album's direction across nearly a year of rollout.
The 12-track album features two notable guest collaborations: THE USED's Bert McCracken appears on "Poison," while CROSSFAITH's Kenta Koie features on "Savior" — pairings that place COLDRAIN's melodic, hook-driven strain of alt-metal alongside two prominent voices from adjacent corners of the genre.
COLDRAIN will support the release with an extensive run of live dates. The band's "Optimize = Optdemise Japan Tour" runs from October through December 2026, covering the band's home market extensively. Internationally, COLDRAIN will join ELECTRIC CALLBOY's Australian tour in September alongside ICE NINE KILLS, putting the band in front of festival-sized crowds well before the new album's domestic tour gets underway.
With a title built on wordplay between optimization and its inverse, "Optimize = Optdemise" positions COLDRAIN's eighth album as a continuation of the band's long-running interest in technology's double edge — a theme reinforced by the extended single rollout and a guest list drawn from bands operating in similarly hook-heavy, high-energy territory.